Verona Festival brought
out
all the stars
by Julie Druker
The Deline family won a parade
award as the cast of the Wizard of Oz
The 14th Annual Verona Festival was
another resounding success. This year’s Hollywood theme brought out
the stars of the community for the inaugural Friday night parade
which included the entire cast of the Wizard of Oz, The Beverly
Hillbillies, Marilyn Monroe, and Flatt and Scruggs, to name a few.
Opening ceremonies were performed by
town crier Paddy O’Connor and Charlie Chaplin, aka Dick Miller.
Debbie Lingen hosted the event and announced the award-winning parade
participants.
Local band Telephoto warmed up the
music fans prior to an appearance by Mike Menor (as Elvis) and the
Amazing Hillbilly Cats who had the capacity crowd at McMullen Park
grooving long after the stars were shining in the sky.
And that was just Friday.
Photo Right: The builders and crew of Mork and
Gork finish first in the festival’s duct tape boat races at
McMullen beach
Saturday the festival continued at
breakneck speed with ever-popular duct tape boat races. Gork and
Mork, after five years of racing and perfecting their technique, took
the lead and were awarded the duct tape cup.
Floyd Deyo, a member of the Verona Area
Heritage Society, gave informative and entertaining historical tours
of Verona.
Local celebrities Rick Hughes, Del
Stowe and Joel Barrett were auctioned off for a dunk tank soaking to
the delight of the crowd.
The talent continued on stage all day
Saturday with the relaxing piano interludes of Liza Carew, the
heart-felt tunes of the Steve Kennedy Trio and the toe-tapping jazzy
funk covers performed by the Torres guitar trio of Kingston. Big Mo
and the Blues Mission played Chicago-style blues well into the
afternoon.
Off stage and behind the scenes, other
stars less fond of the limelight also had a chance to shine. Festival
manager Wayne Conway took the helm of the brand new Verona Express
train, a favorite for the kids. The train was designed and built by
Verona native Charlie Stewart, a 3-month undertaking of which he
“enjoyed every single minute.” Sabra Lovegrove’s flair for
graphic design made possible the colorful cartoon cutouts that
adorned each car.
Along with train rides, the young kids
spent most of their day petting at the zoo, putting on the greens and
getting lost in the maze in between mouthfuls of cotton candy.
Older members of the crowd shopped at
the festival market and dined at Cameron’s Canteen while enjoying
the musical entertainment.
Hats off once again to the members of
the Verona Community Association and the Festival Committee and to
the huge number of sponsors and committed volunteers who once again
went that extra mile to bring together the entire community for a
real gem of a festival.
Verona Festival 2009 Results:
Early Bird Draw: Gwen Grant; Admission
Prize Winners: Karen Bince; Adam Mason; Paul Gonu; Claudia Percy;
Steve Rampling; Frances Caird.
Parade Prize Winners: Best Horse Entry:
Vaughan's Tire & Auto; Best Walking Entry: (children) Samantha
Johns; Best Family Entry: The Deline Family; Best Business Entry:
Bravo Restaurant; Best Decorated Vehicle: Tom & Dora Zimmer;
Bicycle Winners: Ashley Wash; Kyle Sharpe
