Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Weekend Wrap-Up

As I said on Sunday, the third annual Blessing of the Fleet was a great event on Saturday, thanks to all who participated in the blessing itself and the picnic in the park afterward. Deacon Joe Kurtenbach, of Ava, offered the blessing to 40 boats. Several of them made U-turns and headed right back out on the lake after receiving the blessing. For many it was the first time they'd been on the lake this year, and I know a lot of folks were eager to see the lake at this high level. Not to mention it was a splendid day, with temps in the 70s and the sun shining brightly.

Doug and Deb Yeager and gang (pictured above right) won the award for the Most Original Theme, which was "Noah's Ark." (Very appropriate given all the rain and excess water we have!) Pam Hicks and family (above left) dressed as pirates (arghhh!) and won awards for the Best Costumes and Best in Show.

A HUGE thank you goes to Bob Gunkel, Skip and Angie Dechau, Bill and Lois Bauer, Roger and Debbie Lee, and our new park attendant, Tom Pardo, for all of their hard work in setting up, cooking, serving and cleaning up after the picnic. I heard rave reviews from several people about the food. The menu consisted of fried fish, grilled brats and hot dogs, corn on the cob, new potatoes, corn muffins and dessert. It was delish.

Revolver, a blues and rock and roll band, entertained the crowd. Throughout the night the group invited guest singers (and tambourine players...) to join them on stage. There was plenty of dancing going on as well.

At the end of the night, with the food and t-shirt sales, raffle ticket sales, and the joining of six members to the "One Minute Club" (a donation of $300 for one minute of fireworks), more than $3,000 was raised for the fireworks, putting us up to about $4,500 total -- just $1,500 shy of the $6,000 goal for a 20-minute display. Way to go EVERYONE!!

CLICK HERE to see more pictures from the Blessing of the Fleet. (If you aren't already a member of snapfish, simply enter your e-mail address and a password to create an account.)

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