2014 Summer Fest

June 26-29, 2014 • www.oregonwisummerfest.com,

CarnivalLive EntertainmentFireworksSoftball Tournament5K/10K Classic Run & WalkTug-o-War

Hot Air Balloon RidesParadeCar Show“Thrilla on the Grilla”Craft Fair

June 26, 2014 - Summer Fest - The Oregon Observer - 9

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Schedule of Events

Thursday 6/26

9:00 am – 3:00 pm Classic & Custom Car Show • Registration 9:00 am – Noon 12:30 pm – 6:00 pm Carnival Midway 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm Food & Commercial Vendor Rows 12:30 pm Huge Community Parade 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Thrilla on the Grilla featuring BBQ Rib or Chicken Dinner, Live Music, All Day Softball Tournament 7:30 pm Parade of Bands @ Oregon High School Panther Stadium Gates open at 6 pm • $9 or $25 per Family up to 6

4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Summer Fest Classic Run/Walk Packet Pick-Up 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm Carnival Midway, Rain Date from Thurs Ride-All-Rides 5:00 pm-10:00 pm • $16 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm Food & Commercial Vendor Rows 6:00 pm – 11:30 pm Live Music: DJ Music by Madison Mobile DJ Service (6 pm) • Cherry Pie (8:30 pm) • $8 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Tethered Hot Air Balloon Rides All Evening Softball Tournament 11:30 pm – 1:30 am Safe Rider Program

8:00 am – 4:00 pm Craft Fair 9:00 am Summer Fest Classic Run/Walk • Race-Day Registration begins at 7:00 am 10:00 am – 10:00 pm Food & Commercial Vendor Rows 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm Carnival Midway, including Ride-All-Rides 12:00 pm-11:00 pm • $20 1:00 pm Tug-of-War • Weigh-ins 10 am-12:30 pm 6:00 pm – 11:30 pm Live Music: Quest (6 pm) • Super Tuesday (8:30 pm) • $8 All Day Softball Tournament 11:30 pm – 1:30 am Safe Rider Program

Saturday 6/28

Sunday 6/29

Friday 6/27

5:00 pm – 10:00 pm Carnival Midway, including Ride-All-Rides Wrist Band • $16 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm Food & Commercial Vendor Rows 7:00 pm – 11:30 pm Live Music by Universal Sound • Free All Evening Softball Tournament Dusk Fireworks @ Kiser Park • Rain Date: Friday, June 27

www.oregonwisummerfest.comOregon Summer Fest is brought to you by the Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce.

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Celebrating 50 yearsChamber’s biggest fundraiser is ready to go

Bill livickUnified Newspaper Group

Judy Knutson took over as the Oregon Area Cham-ber of Commerce’s new execut ive di rector las t year 10 days before the start of Summer Fest.

At the time, she seemed unfazed.

She to ld the Oregon O b s e r v e r t h a t s h e ’ d worked for several years as a volunteer and that as president of the cham-ber’s board of directors – which she resigned to become the director – she was in a good position to take charge and not only lead the chamber but also put the finishing touches on its annual summer cel-ebration.

N o w , w i t h a y e a r ’ s

Summer Fest parade

Grand Marshal Urban to ride in convertible restored by studentsBill livickUnified Newspaper Group

Summer Fest parade Grand Marshal Bill Urban has been a familiar face in Oregon for the past 20 years, when he and his wife, Helen, moved here from Mt. Horeb.

Urban is a longtime member of the Oregon Rotary Club and retired two years ago from the Oregon School District, where he worked as the School-to Career Program coordinator at Oregon High School.

Urban worked in educa-tion for a total of 50 years after graduating from UW-Madison. He first taught agriculture and industrial arts in Pardeeville. He and his family – his wife, two daughters and a son – later moved to Mt. Horeb,

w h e r e Bill was a voca t ion-a l c o o r -d i n a t o r a n d a u t o mechanics instructor. H i s ch i l -d r e n a r e now adults

living elsewhere.Urban later served as

an associate principal in McFarland, and then put in 17 years as School-to-Career coordinator at OHS, where he helped students get started in apprenticeship programs a n d , i n s o m e c a s e s , careers.

“We started out with three s tudents in the School-to-Career Program and built it up to 40 to 50

Urban

Turn to Urban/Page 15Turn to Fest/Page 16

File photo

The Summer Fest celebration continues this year as the Oregon Chamber of Commerce marks its 50th anniversary.

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Fireworks provide spark for Chamber’s 50thScott GirardUnified Newspaper Group

A 50th birthday usually means an extra candle on the birthday cake.

But the Oregon Cham-ber of Commerce is going a bit bigger than candles. Instead, a new fireworks d i sp lay wi l l h igh l igh t Thursday night at Summer Fest in celebration of the Chamber’s anniversary.

“Everyone is excited,” said chamber director Judy Knutson.

The fireworks will be launched at Jaycee Park, which will be closed to pedest r ians dur ing the show, and Knutson said not even the park’s neighbors expressed any concerns.

“I’ve had calls from the neighbors over there, ‘we just need to know so we can take care of the pets,’” she said. “Nobody has given me bad ‘why are you doing this?’”

Bu t f i r eworks don’ t come free, and the Oregon-Brooklyn Lions Club is doing its part to support the new feature after a group of Lions sat around wondering

“Why don’t we have fire-works?” said Lions Club vice president Rich Wisden.

“We thought it’d be a great way of doing some-thing for the community,” Wisden said.

Wisden, who has lived in Oregon nearly 30 years, said he remembers fire-works on and off , but they’ve never been a con-sistent Summer Fest fea-ture, despite the festival’s proximity to July 4.

“This is just kind of a nice thing, especially for families with kids and stuff like that,” he said. “I just think it’s something that Oregon really needs.”

And while the Chamber’s 50th anniversary provides a nice excuse, Wisden said the Lions don’t expect the fireworks to be a “one and done” feature.

“Our whole idea is this is something we want to con-tinue,” he said.

Wisden made sure to point out that the funds for the fireworks are coming mostly from Ribfest sales, and without its sponsors for that, it likely wouldn’t be possible.

“It’s not like the Lions have got a lot of money,” he said with a laugh. “When our sponsors are helping out, there’s a huge part of it. It’s pretty much a com-munity thing.”

Knutson said they expect people to watch the fire-works, which will begin at dusk, from Kaiser Park. North Perry Parkway will also be closed during the show “for safety reasons,” Knutson said.

W i s d e n w a s s i m p l y thankful for the opportu-nity to provide something he said the community has sorely needed for years.

“Thank our sponsors, thank the chamber, thank everybody,” he said.

Thrilla on the Grilla proceeds to benefit inaugural fireworks displayvictoria vliSideSUnified Newspaper Group

Come hungry to the “Thrilla on the Grilla” event at Oregon Summer Fest.

The Oregon-Brooklyn Lions Club-sponsored event will feature a barbe-cue dinner, drawing and live entertainment and is slated for June 29 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the live music entertainment tent.

The proceeds will ben-efit the Lions Club, with

a portion helping fund the Summer Fest fireworks display.

Richard Wisden, owner of JL Richards, said the event is the perfect way to wind down from the parade and enjoy what Summer Fest has to offer on Sunday.

“It’s after the parade, and we s t a r t s e rv ing right at 11 a.m.,” he said. “Hopefully, people will keep summer fest going on Sunday. We’re hoping to get 1,000 people out for

the event.”In its third year, Thrilla

on the Grilla features bar-becue baby back ribs or a half barbecue chicken din-ner with your choice of sides: salad, baked beans, or roll and butter. Tickets are $12 and each ticket also gets you entered in a drawing for a $500, $100 or $50 prize.

Tickets are available at the event or in advance at the Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce and JL Rich-ards.

If you goWhat: Summer Fest

fireworksWhen: Thursday, June

26, after dusk (rain date Friday, June 27)

Where: Launched from Jaycee Park; Watch in Kaiser Park

Photo submitted

The Oregon-Brooklyn Lions Club-sponsored event Thrilla on the Grilla will take place Sunday.

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Picture yourself soaring above the bustling Summer Fest grounds as you take in a beautiful sunset view.

If that sounds appealing, a tethered hot air balloon ride at this year’s festival could be just what you’re looking for.

Oregon’s Pure Integrity Homes of RE/MAX Pre-ferred Realtors and other local businesses will host the new ride this year on Friday night from 7-9 p.m. just north of the softball diamonds.

A limited number of rides on the full-sized hot air bal-loon are available for a sug-gested donation of $20 per ride. Proceeds from the rides will go to Oregon’s historic pump house restoration proj-ect. Oregon’s Pure Integrity Homes owner Tony Antonie-wicz said his company would match funds up to $1,500.

Rides will last between 5-10 minutes and are depen-dent on wind and weather conditions.

Weather conditions last year prohibited what would have been the inaugural event, Antoniewicz said.

“The goal is to have this be an annual event,” he said.

The balloon is tethered to one spot and floats around 100 feet up in the air for a few minutes, Antoniewicz said.

The basket has room for two people plus the balloon’s pilot. Insurance rules prohibit riders under the age of 10 years old.

– Mark Ignatowski

If you goWhat: Hot air balloon ridesWhen: 7-9 p.m. Friday, June 27Where: Just north of the softball diamonds on the

Summer Fest groundsInfo: summerfest.oregonwi.com/hot-air-balloon-rides/

Summer Fest scheduleThursday, June 26

• All Evening Softball Tournament• 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., Carnival Midway• 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., Food & Commercial Vendor Rows• 7 p.m. – 11:30 p.m., Live Music by Universal Sound• Dusk, Fireworks, Kaiser Park

Friday, June 27• All Evening Softball Tournament• 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., Summer Fest Classic Run/Walk

Packet Pick-Up• 5 p.m. – 11 p.m., Carnival Midway• 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., Food & Commercial Vendors• 6 p.m., Live Music: DJ Music by Madison Mobile

DJ Service, $8 • 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., Tethered Hot Air Balloon Rides• 8:30 p.m., Live Music: Cherry Pie, $8• 11:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m., Safe Rider Program

Saturday, June 28• All Day Softball Tournament• 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Craft Fair• 9 a.m., Summer Fest Classic Run/Walk • Race-Day

Registration begins at 7 a.m.• 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., Food & Commercial Vendors• 12 p.m. – 11 p.m., Carnival Midway• 1 p.m., Tug-of-War (Weigh-ins 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)• 6 p.m., Live Music: Quest, $8 • 8:30 p.m., Live Music: Super Tuesday, $8 • 11:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m., Safe Rider Program

Sunday, June 29• All Day Softball Tournament• 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Classic & Custom Car Show• 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Live music: Back 40, Beer tent • 12:30 p.m. – 6 p.m., Carnival Midway• 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Food & Commercial Vendors• 12:30 p.m., Community Parade, Main Street• 2-5 p.m., Live music: Bill “Horse” Bossingham,

beer tent• 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Thrilla on the Grilla featuring BBQ

Rib or Chicken Dinner, Live Music and Raffle• 7:30 p.m., Parade of Bands, Oregon High School

Panther Stadium

Hot air balloon rides take flight this year

Photo submitted

RE/MAX will have hot air balloon rides available this year at Summer Fest, weather permitting. The balloon floats about 100 feet up in the air for 5-10 minutes.


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Car show moves to bigger locationvictoria vliSideSUnified Newspaper Group

The Oregon Summer Fest car show has a new location this year.

The annual show will move to Park Street to accommodate the show’s growth in the past few years, said Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce director Judy Knutson.

Expecting more than 100 cars to show up, Knutson said the bigger location will allow them to not “turn anybody away.” Another advantage of the car show at Park Street is it’s closer to the fairgrounds, she said.

People who wish to show cars can register from now until the day of the event, which is Sunday, June 29.

The show runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and day-of registration runs from 9 a.m. to noon in front of Lit-tle Buddy’s Popcorn.

Knutson said the show appeals to car enthusiasts

as well as those looking to check out a neat attraction.

“We get such great cars,” she said. “And the owners know so much about these vehicles. It just amazes me. They’re all very nice.”

The event features dash plaques for those showing cars, as well as awards in more than 10 classes rang-ing from the 1930s and pri-or to the 1990s to present. It also offers the opportunity to ride in the community festival and to win the best of show award.

For more info or to reg-ister, go to summerfest. oregonwi.com/car-show.

If you goWhat: Car showWhere: Park StreetWhen: Sunday, June 29,

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.Info: summerfest.

oregonwi.com/car-show

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Classic and custom cars will be on display in a new location this year. The car show has moved to Park Street.


One local band and two big names make festival musicBill livickUnified Newspaper Group

O n e o f t h e t h i n g s that’s guaranteed to draw throngs to Summer Fest takes place in the enter-tainment tent, where some of the area’s top festival band take the stage.

Th i s yea r , Oregon’ s Universal Sound makes the music on Thursday night, followed by the out-rageously ‘80s look and feel of Cherry Pie on Fri-day. On Saturday, Super Tuesday returns to per-form a variety of upbeat dance tunes and hard rock.

Super TuesdaySuper Tuesday formed

in 1996 as a four-piece alternative pop and rock band. Nearly 20 years lat-er, the band has six mem-bers and is one of southern Wisconsin’s most popular club and festival bands.

T h e y ’ v e r e g u l a r l y appeared at Oregon Sum-mer Fest, as well as events l ike Verona Hometown Days and the Wisconsin Fair. They’re also fixtures a t area water ing holes such as Badger Bowl , Pooley’s and Club Tavern in Middleton.

The good news is that lead singer Dia Sparby returned to Super Tues-day last year after taking a couple of years off follow-ing the birth of her second child.

Along wi th Sparby’s e n e r g e t i c s t a g e p r e s -ence, the band features Doug Skinner on bass and vocals, Jeff Hermans on guitar and vocals, Maryel-len Jenson on keyboards and vocals, Shane Sparby (Dia’s husband) on drums, and Shane Tracy on lead guitar and vocals.

Dia Sparby sa id she returned to the band out of necessity – and she’s glad she did.

“It’s l ike home,” she said. “We have a really good chemistry. We’ve had so many changes over the years . My husband and I have been like the consistent members, and we’ve had a couple rounds of guitar players and bass players.”

T h e b a n d ’ s n e w e s t members – Tracy and

Skinner - are two of the reasons Sparby returned to the stage, “but the main reason is the other singer just wasn’t working out,” she explained.

She said she felt “hor-rible” that it wasn’t work-ing out, and with her hus-band and close friends still performing, she was com-pelled to rejoin the band.

Sparby reca l l ed tha t when she first performed with the new band mem-b e r s , “ w e j u s t g e l l e d i m m e d i a t e l y . T h e y ’ r e seasoned professionals. They’ve been playing way longer than I’ve been sing-ing. They’re just pros.”

Another reason for Dia’s return is that Super Tues-day may be nearing its “last go round,” she said.

“We don’ t know the end date for Super Tues-day, but it’s definitely out there. We’ve been doing this for 13 years, and I thought if I come back

and finish, it makes total sense vs. having someone else finish out what I was involved with for so long.”

Super Tuesday takes its cues from such artists as Bon Jovi, Jason Aldean, Journey, Little Big Town, Bryan Adams, Sugarland, Michael Jackson, Poison, and Bruno Mars, among others. Performances are high energy and made for dancing.

Sparby said the band’s music is a variety of all kinds of music.

“There’s so much coun-try music out there now,” she obse rved . “Tha t ’ s what we interchange. We don’t have a lot of it, but we change it out all the time because there’s so much.

“But we’ve still got the ‘80s staples in there and some of the old stuff that we’ve done forever that if we ever were to get rid of, people would be upset.”

Most importantly, Spar-by said she and the rest of Super Tuesday love get-ting on stage and perform-ing.

“It really is fun to get up and sing, and going back to places where you played for years is always a good time,” she said.

Cherry PieLight shows, loud music

and big hair in the style of 1980s rock. That’s Cherry Pie , an award-winning band based in Milwaukee but popular throughout the Midwest.

The band fo rmed in 1999 and in 2000 changed its name Cherry Pie. It features Dave Zettle on guitar, John Swenson on lead vocals, Shane Loy on bass and vocals, Frank Babeck in drums and Josh Becker on keyboards, gui-tar and vocals.

In an interview, Becker told the Observer the band tends to “ignite things” on stage.

“Frank, the drummer, is a real showman – always twir l ing his s t icks and drawing attention to him-self,” Becker said. “John’s s i n g i n g i s e s p e c i a l l y impressive, because what-ever you think about the vocal stylings of Journey’s Steve Perry or Mot ley Crew’s Vince Neal, those hyper tenors are not easy to imitate. He’s a great frontman, too.”

Becker described the

b a n d ’ s s h o w s a s p a r t machismo and part kitsch. He admitted that what the band does is sort of silly on one level, but with a high level of musicianship and commitment.

He said the band takes i t s c raf t ser ious ly and takes pride in its music, “but we try not to take the whole thing too seri-ously.”

“We’re paying tribute but also sort of mock-ing all at the same time,” Becker said. “We are good at what we do, but we don’t want to be taken too seriously. I think that’s the an t i thes i s o f what the ‘90s were about. I’ve always felt that the bands of the ‘90s, like Nirvana and others, always took themselves seriously with-out taking their craft seri-ously. We’re like the other way around.”

The band has averaged about five shows a month for the last 14 years and has been recognized with Wisconsin Area Music Industry awards.

To get a sense of what to expect, Becker listed some of the band’s favor-ite artists: Bon Jovi, Beck, Rush, Van Halen, Slayer, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Alice Cooper.

He said the band thrives on per forming for b ig audiences.

“One o f the b igges t thr i l ls for me, person-ally, is like when we play

‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ by Bon Jovi, usually the c rowd wi l l s ing a long really loud,” he said. “And during that whole f irs t verse, it’s really nothing but acoustic guitar and lead vocal. And a lot of times John will stop sing-ing and the whole crowd will sing the first verse while I play acoustic gui-tar. When you’re doing that for like 3,000 or 4,000 people at a festival, that is unbelievable.”

Universal SoundEstabl i shed in 1972,

Universal Sound is one of the area’s longest running bands, according to Dan Sutter, who plays bass and sings. He joined the band in 1999. Other band mem-bers include Scott Nab-holtz on keyboards and vocals, Alan Maslowski on drums and vocals, and Randy Glodowski on lead guitar and vocals.

“We play old rock and roll, a touch of country, and wha teve r e l se we feel like playing. That’s why it’s universal sound – there’s something for almost everyone,” Sutter said. “Really it’s good-time, danceable music.”

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Softball tournament returns with 19 teamsScott GirardUnified Newspaper Group

A little competition nev-er hurts, and plenty will be on display over the week-end throughout the Sum-mer Fest softball tourna-ment.

This year’s edition fea-tures 19 teams, up from 17 last year, said Bob Klein, who organizes the Oregon Adult Softball League and the tournament along with it.

“A lot of new teams in the league and they were ready to sign up,” Klein said.

The games will begin Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on the Kaiser Park fields, with another game to fol-low at 9:30 p.m.

Games will continue Fri-day night, starting at 6:30 p.m., with some scheduled to start as late as 9:30 p.m.

Sa tu rday w i l l be a

full-day affair, with games beginning at 10 a.m. in the loser’s bracket and con-tinuing until a 10 p.m. start time under the lights.

Sunday will bring the c h a m p i o n s h i p r o u n d games beginning at noon, with the championship game at 3 p.m., though another game could be required at 4 p.m. depend-ing on how the bracket plays out.

New this year, Klein said the top eight teams will all receive money for where they finish thanks to a sponsorship from Ore-gon Community Bank and Trust.

“We’re really happy about this year,” Klein said. “Every team can’t be the best team in the league, but we want everybody to feel like they still have something to play for.”

Klein said he looks for-ward to seeing how some

of the younger teams in the league do compared to the “old teams that always fin-ish very well.”

“Every game should be a good game,” he said. “All our league teams enjoy it and they love get-ting in this tournament and they’re going to play hard I’m sure.”

For the full bracket and schedule of games, visit OregonAdultSoftball.com.

Charity event a good ridevictoria vliSideSUnified Newspaper Group

A new event at Oregon Summer Fest doubles as a charity fundraiser.

In i ts f i rs t year , the Motorcycle Poker Run is a motorcycle (or car) ride that includes four stops, each at a different spot in the great-er Madison area.

Don’t be fooled by the name.

“Its really a ride, more than a run,” said organizer Dave Mastos.

The June 28 ride includes a $20 donation that ben-efits PAWWS To Heal. It’s a local organization that offers animal-assisted therapy and activities to children healing from abuse and to help cope with phys-ical disabilities.

Mastos, who has been involved with Summer Fest planning in the past, said

he’d been thinking about how to incorporate a motor-cycle ride in the festivities. After learning about the charity, he thought it’d be a good fit for the event.

“We hope to raise some money for their good cause, and hopefully bring some more people into Oregon for the Summer Fest activi-ties, as well,” he said.

Par t ic ipants can buy refreshments at each stop

and will get a playing card at each stop, too. That will add up to a poker hand, and first, second and third priz-es will be given out to the top hands.

Registration for the ride is day-of at 116 Spring St., from 10-11 a.m. The ride will begin at Oregon Sum-mer Fest grounds around 11:10 a.m. and goes until about 5 p.m.

Stops include:• Sunset Bar and Grill,

Fort Atkinson• Aztlan Inn, Lake Mills• Gerk’s Junction, Sun

Prairie• Summer Fest Grounds,

OregonDonation includes admis-

sion to the entertainment tent to see bands Quest and Super Tuesday.

For more information, search ‘PAWWS to HEAL” charity poker ride’ on Face-book.

If you goWhat: Softball tourna-

mentWhen: Thursday-

SundayWhere: Kaiser Park

fieldsSchedule:

OregonAdultSoftball.com

If you goWhat: Motorcycle Poker

RunWhere: Register at 116

Spring St.When: June 28, registra-

tion from 10-11 a.m., ride at 11:10 a.m.

Cost: $20 donation

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Pulling togetherThe Tug-of-War competition will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 28.

Wet weather last year put a damper on the softball tour-nament. This year, 19 teams are ready to play during the weekend-long tournament. Sunday’s championship game is slated for 3 p.m., but could get pushed back to 4 p.m., depending on how the brackets shake out.

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kids per year in the pro-gram,” Urban said. “We had students who studied every subject and field – all across the board.”

A s G r a n d M a r s h a l , Urban wi l l be dr iven

through the village in his own convertible, which he and his students restored back when he was teaching auto mechanics.

“I had the kids help me rebuild the car as a class project,” Urban said.

“I asked Larry Mahr if

he would mind driving the convertible. He’s been a big part of the School-to-Career Program in Oregon schools.”

Although he’s retired, Urban is still active at OHS, volunteering in the agriculture department

and with the auto tech pro-gram.

“I’ve worked some with the STEM (Science, Tech-nology, Engineering and Math) grant and the Ore-gon Rotary Club,” Urban said.

Urban: Restored convertible makes stylish parade rideContinued from page 9

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Down on Main StreetSunday’s parade steps off at 12:30 p.m. and meanders down Main Street from Lincoln Street to Kierstead Lane. While last year celebrated all things America, this year’s theme will focus on the chamber’s “50 years of fun.”

Ready to runRunners and walkers looking to burn a little energy during Summer Fest can check out a 5K or 10K run Saturday morn-ing. A 2-mile walk option is also available.

Last year was a little wet, but people still turned out to run the courses.

Race day registration and packet pick-up is from 7-8 a.m. at the Summer Fest trailer in the Oregon Pool parking lot. The races start at 9 a.m.

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e x p e r i e n c e , K n u t s o n admits that planning this year’s festival has been smoother than last year’s trial by fire.

“The organizing is defi-nitely a little easier this year,” she said.

It’s a big year for the chamber because the orga-nization is celebrating 50 years of existence. That fact also makes it a big year for Summer Fest, the chamber’s largest annual fundraiser.

A f t e r 1 2 y e a r s , t h e chamber is bringing back a fireworks show as a way

to celebrate its anniver-sary. That will take place Thursday night at dusk (with a Friday rain date). Thursday is also family night, with Oregon’s own Universal Sound band per-forming in the entertain-ment tent. Other musical enter ta inment includes classic rock with Cherry Pie on Friday night and alternative rock by Super Tuesday on Saturday.

Saturday will be a par-ticularly active day for Summer Fest goers, with a daylong softball tourna-ment, the classic walk/run beginning at 9 a.m. and a tug-o-war starting at 1 p.m.

The chamber is sharing a table at the Summer Fest grounds with the Oregon Area Historical Society. OAHS will have a few items on display to high-light the chamber’s anni-versary.

“They wi l l have the drum that we (the cham-ber) used to use in the band 50 years ago,” Knut-son said.

She also noted a life-sized fiberglass horse – the chamber’s old mascot – has been pulled out of storage, restored and will be on the grounds and in the parade.

(She c red i ted Denny Erfurth for being “nice enough to fix it up.”)

Speaking of the parade, i t ’ s happening Sunday beginning at 12:30 p.m. The chamber has chosen Bill Urban as its Grand Marshal this year.

Urban retired two years a g o f r o m t h e O r e g o n School District – 50 years after he began his career in education.

“ H e ’ s h e l p e d m a n y ,

many business employ-ees find work with cham-ber members, and we felt he would be very good as Grand Marshal this year,” Knutson said.

O r e g o n C o m m u n i t y Bank and Trust is helping with the parade as well, by donating $1,000 in prize money for the float judg-ing. Knutson said there will be about 70 entries in the parade. The first-place winner will receive $500, with $300 going to the second-place winner and $200 for third place.

A l s o S u n d a y i s t h e Parade of Bands Compe-tition Show, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at Panther Stadium. Gates open at 6 p.m., with concessions provided. Ticket prices are $9 individual and $25 for a family up to six. The famous Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps will perform in exhibition.

Last week, Knutson told the Observer that the arts and crafts show, which takes place 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday in the entertain-ment tent , was low on entries. This is the first year for the event, and on Monday, Knutson said it’s “filling up.”

She thinks the ent ire c o m m u n i t y i s p u l l i n g together to make Summer Fest a big success.

“We’re working well with the village,” she said. “They’re helping us block off the streets. The police and fire departments have been wonderful to work with.

“It seems l ike every-thing is falling into place because everyone’s will-ing to work together, and I just think that’s really a community effort.”

Summer Fest: A few familiar events returnContinued from page 9

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Marching bands and floats will make their way down Main Street Sunday during the annual parade. A marching band competition is slated for Sunday night at Oregon High School.

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Thrill seekers can find a variety of rides at the Summer Fest carnival.

Documents

2014 Summer Fest