The Red Wagon contest will go on as scheduled Saturday morning, unless the parade is canceled due to weather.
If that is the case, the “rain date” for the contest will be 2 p.m. Sunday at the Community Arts Center, says Amy Wise of the arts center.
The Great American Balloon Race at Stuart Powell Field is a go for tonight, says Robert Wagner of WRNZ radio station.
“It looks like the weather is going to be great,” he says. Wagner made his prediction when a reporter called him shortly after 2 p.m.
Gates open at 5 p.m. fpr the balloon race. Official balloon lift-off is 7 p.m.
Both parking and admission are free.
Bourbon and Brass, which kicks off the Great American Brass Band Festival, tonight at Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg is sold out.
The event features a tasting of the finest bourbons and music by the Miles Osland Quartet.
By JENNIFER BRUMMETT
jenb@amnews.com
Most know the 25th anniversary is “silver” and the 50th is “gold.” It isn’t necessarily common knowledge a 20th anniversary is “paper” but it seems only appropriate memorabilia George Foreman will include in “Celebrating 20 Years of the Great American Brass Band Festival” at the Community Arts Center is paper-y.
Foreman, a founder of the Great American Brass Band Festival, has an extensive collection of brass band memorabilia. In it are advertising posters for the C.G. Conn company that date from the mid- to late 1880s.
“Nobody knows how many Conn advertisements there are,” Foreman said. “They are really very hard to find.”
According to CAC Program Director Brandon Long, who worked with Foreman and other Brass Band personnel and enthusiasts to compile the exhibit, the show represents the evolution of the festival, from what began on a local level to its current status as an internationally-acclaimed event that draws thousands to Danville each June. This impact, Long explains, is a great example of what can happen when communities focus on the arts.
“The brass band festival showcases visual, musical and performing arts throughout the event, creating a great dialogue within the community,” Long said. “Whether they realize it or not, they are participating in what is an ‘arts’ event, and we’re happy to be a part of that with this exhibit.”
A collector for more than a quarter-century, Foreman also has in his “paper” collection, carefully preserved behind glass, two posters - one of Patrick S. Gilmore’s band and one of John Philip Sousa’s band.
“Gilmore did a season at Manhattan Beach,” Foreman explained. “It ended in September and then he was to take the band to St. Louis. Gilmore then died suddenly on a Friday.
“Sousa had just been persuaded to start a professional band. Its first concert was scheduled for the first Sunday after Gilmore died. Sousa got music to a song Gilmore wrote. … That piece of music became the first the band played.”
Foreman added both bands had the same management and the posters are similar. The Sousa poster features “totally fanciful people and instruments.”
In the mid-19th century, brass instruments couldn’t play all the notes they can now. “Today’s instruments are the product of the industrial revolution,” Foreman noted.
The short life of the keyed bugle
From the 1820s through the 1850s, an instrument called the keyed bugle enjoyed a short life span. Ned Kendall was the most famous keyed bugle player, Foreman explained, pointing to an advertisement on one of his walls for a “duel” between Gilmore, on the cornet, and Kendall, on the keyed bugle. Ultimately, Gilmore won because the cornet was faster than the keyed bugle.
Posters of the Noss family, of which little is known, and the Berger family also may be included in the exhibit at the Community Arts Center. Foreman said he may have three-dimensional objects in lockable cabinets in the exhibit as well.
Included among the montage of memorabilia is a showcase that celebrates the artists in our community that have created artwork for past festival posters. Several original paintings by local artists that inspired commemorative poster designs are on display in the Lockhart Gallery, characterizing the shift from graphic design in the festival’s early years to the current use of local artists’ work. Among the works displayed are original paintings by Wayne Daugherty, John Dixon, Paul Sirimongkhon and the 2009 commissioned poster artist David Farmer, whose oil painting captures the vibrant essence of the festival with a striking montage of various festival scenes.
Additionally, a collection in the Farmer’s National Bank Gallery displays 20 years of GABBF commemorative posters, quilts made from past festival T-shirts and other unique pieces and photographs donated by brass band enthusiasts.
“The Community Arts Center is thrilled to host this month-long exhibit, presenting a unique collection that scans two decades of brass band memories and one-of-a-kind memorabilia,” said CAC Marketing Director Amy Wise. “We hope the community, and visitors to the festival, will join us as we celebrate 20 years of this remarkable event. The festival has provided such a positive impact on our community, especially in terms of highlighting the arts - obviously, a passion we share here at the CAC.”
Celebrating 20 Years of the Great American Brass Band Festival
By JENNIFER BRUMMETT
jenb@amnews.com
The 2009 Great American Brass Band Festival will have a variety of events and aspects that reflect its 20th anniversary.
As of Feb. 20, the following bands are confirmed for this year’s festival: Canadian Brass, this year’s keynote band; Advocate Brass Band; Dixie Power Trio; Rhythm and Brass; Jack Brass; Stoneback Sisters; Flint Citadel Salvation Army Band; Saxton’s; Chicago Brass, the winner of last year’s North American Brass Band Association competition, which this year will be held in April in Louisville; 202nd Army Band; U.S. Army Herald Trumpets; Scott Kirby; Dick Domek; Circle City; Lexington Brass; United Pipe Band; and Central Kentucky Youth Jazz Orchestra. A few other bands have been approached to appear at this year’s festival.
The Great Olympian Traditional Jazz Band will not be at this year’s festival, said festival steering committee member John Albright. However, the committee recognizes there is a gap in the festival in which New Orleans-style jazz fits. Committee members have decided to do research about New Orleans bands that are known for playing that type of music, and visit the city to hear them.
“We recognize there is that hole. … We do have hopes and plans to continue that tradition (of New Orleans-style jazz at the festival),” Albright noted.
David Farmer is creating the artwork for this year’s poster and memorabilia. That will be unveiled soon, said new GABBF Executive Director Niki Kinkade.
The Community Arts Center’s June exhibit will reflect the 20th anniversary theme, and Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center also is creating an exhibit on its ortho-spine rehabilitation floor that is brass band-related. Memorabilia from the past 20 years is sought for the latter; anyone wanting to donate or loan items to the exhibit can call Melissa G. Grubbs, physician liaison/project coordinator, at (859) 239-2407.
Kinkade added The Great American Dollhouse Museum also is planning a brass band-related activity and/or exhibit during the festival.
Returning events include Bourbon and Brass, which began last year; a Master Clinic for musicians; the Instrument Petting Zoo for kids; and the Red Wagon Contest, another activity that began last year. The Gallery Hop also will be held during brass band weekend.
New sponsors needed for $250,000 festival
Funding is a concern for this year, Albright and Kinkade said. New sponsors are needed, as the committee has lost thousands of dollars in grants. The budget for the festival is “hovering in the $250,000 range,” Albright said. He added a lot of people don’t realize the committee pays for everything - including room rentals and flying in bands to the festival, which in the case of Canadian Brass can be quite expensive. In-kind contributions, such as the hospital’s furnishing of linens, help.
Kinkade said about 90 percent of the budget comes from sponsors within the community.
“It is a hard year, but the festival is a community event and we rely on our community to make it successful,” she noted.
Albright added it is important to the steering committee that the festival remain free. “There are very few festivals of our size … that are free,” he said.
Volunteers also are needed, especially leading up to the weekend of the Great American Brass Band Festival, Kinkade said.
The festival’s Web sites - www.gabbf.com and www.gabbf.org - will be updated periodically until the time of the festival.
For more information about the festival; to sponsor the festival; or to volunteer for the festival, contact Kinkade at (859) 319-8426 or niki.kinkade@gabbf.org.