It is almost surreal as to how "Middletown Days" has turned around. Within 24 hours I have gone from being cursed to congratulated. It is really a strange feeling. Here is what has happened. (This has also been reported on the "Let Me Vent Network.")
Today is Sunday, June 17th. Yesterday, "Middletown Days 2007" began. What an eye-opening education this year's event has been for me. And, I have been helping to promote this event for three years!
The first amazing thing I learned happened on Friday morning. The Greenview Restaurant is called by the South Lake County Fire Dept. They are the ones who kick off "Middletown Days" with a pancake breakfast at the local fire station. They have an emergency need - no equipment with which to keep to pancakes warm. Could the Greenview come to their rescue?
Just last week the organizer for the festival returned the restaurant manager's check for a booth in the festival due to a sell-out of booth space. Here the restaurant had jumped through all the required hoops to have a booth. It had run an ad in the local paper telling the community it would be there. Back on May 17th it even hosted a business mixer for the local business association in honor of "Middletown Days" - complete with chef-prepared food and "live" western music. All free for the public. Yet, three days before the deadline it was given, the restaurant gets a call that its check for booth space is being returned. At the time, the restaurant manager vowed NEVER to have anything to do with "Middletown Days" again. All of a sudden, a major "Middletown Days" event is in jeopardy and needs their help. Well, I am happy to report the Greenview Restaurant provided ALL the sterno equipment needed to make the pancake breakfast happen.
At the parade on Saturday, I noticed a larger parade crowd than I remembered seeing in past years. I also saw more parade participants. Shelly Mascari, the woman who sang for the rally in Los Angeles featuring General Norman Schwartzekoff, sang the national anthem to get the parade started. She did a wonderful job. So too did David Neft, who provided the public address system and background music for all parade entries.
For the first time in the four years I had gone to the parade, there was a tragic accident. A horse got spooked at the reviewing stand. It actually raised up on its hind legs and fell over on its back and on its rider...a young girl. Both a fire truck and an ambulance came to the rescue. But, to me, it seemed like a long wait for the rescuers. The MC of the event, Eric Patrick, did a wonderful job keeping the crowd informed as to the child's condition as the parade resumed after she was rushed to the hospital. Thankfully, we were told the girl is going to be fine.
SURPRISE! SURPRISE! While I was typing this message, the phone rang. Who was it? Doug McConnell of San Francisco's famous KRON 4 TV program, "Bay Area Backroads." He could not come for "Middletown Days" as he had been out of town for two weeks. But, he is interested in Middletown. In fact, he has asked me to go back to the festival today and request anyone with video and pictures of the festivities to upload them to his special site - Open Road. He promised me he would contact Millie Pease, the teacher who assisted me at Middletown High School in getting all those 110 letters written and thanking the ALL the high school students. Is there a possibility San Francisco's KRON 4 may be involved in "Middletown Days" next year? It certainly looks like it to me.
Yesterday, at the festival I was surprised to see a much larger crowd than the year before. There were also more "fun exhibits" for the kids. I particularly like the dunk tank. (I could help but wonder if someone was going to walk up to me and request that I volunteer to sit in the tank. But no, that did not happen.)
Store 24 Express was there in the festival with a booth. I was amazed. There they were busily selling hot dogs. I even bought a long one myself and ate it. And, here I was told selling hot dogs was forbidden by anyone but the park itself.
The woman who heads up the Middletown Rotary Club told me that the reason the turnout was so great was because of all the publicity I had done. Well, I told her my big mouth had gotten me in trouble with some folks. She said that was ridiculous! She said there was already 18 companies on the waiting list as vendors for next year.
But, what really blew me away was what Jeff Tennison of the Aero Shuttle told me. He said what made this event such a success was last month's mixer at the Greenview Restaurant. You see, representatives from the county's largest daily publication, the Lake County Record-Bee, showed up for that mixer. That mixer alerted them to how important "Middletown Days" was to the locals. They decided to do a full-color center-fold spread on "Middletown Days" and its history to promote the event. Their sales people approached many merchants in the town to advertise in that center-fold. That issue created a tremendous buzz for the event throughout the entire county.
Nothing quite like this had ever been done before - not for "Middletown Days." Not being a subscriber to the Lake County Record-Bee, I was not even aware this had been done. But, this may indeed explain why all that booth space was sold out before June 9th.
When I got up this morning, I was not planning to go back and visit the festival. But now, after having talked with Doug McConnell, I have to. I have to announce to the crowd that if anyone has any video or pictures of "Middletown Days," it is wanted by a San Francisco TV station. Wow!
Oh, one more thing. I understand the person who was in charge of "Middletown Days" this year will NOT be in charge next year. He is being replaced.
Lamar Morgan
Network Moderator
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