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City gets influx of cash, returns budget to
committee
Relay for Life in Newberg this weekend
Bills limiting toll roads fail in capital
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Old Fashioned Festival primed for a new year |
Preparations underway for Newberg's annual party,
set for July 26-29 at venues throughout town |
By Amanda
Newman, Newberg Graphic intern
E-mail Amanda at anewman@eaglenewspapers.com
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The 27th Annual Newberg Old Fashioned Festival will feature a new
leader of the hymn sing, and what could be the last fireworks
display as it is known.
The festival, which will take place July 26-29, will include the
usual wide selection of events, according to Don Parrish, festival
treasurer and co-chair.
The festivities will begin Thursday with the Children’s Parade, the
Queen’s Coronation and a dog show, according to Parrish. The park
will open Friday, with food, vendors and main stage entertainment in
Memorial Park. A carnival will also open Friday, in Old Renne School
Sports Field.
Saturday morning will feature the Rotary Pancake Feed and the Main
Parade, with the fireworks display in the evening. The Rotary
Pancake Feed will also be held Sunday morning, followed by a car
show along 6th and Blaine streets and the 27th Annual Newberg
Community Hymn Sing.
In a break from almost 30 years of tradition, the hymn sing will be
led this year by Stephen Estrem, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church and
head of the Newberg Ministerial Association, according to Parrish.
Since its inception, the hymn sing had been led by Jim Ringseth,
pastor of Open Bible Church, who retired last year.
The theme of this year’s festival is “Something Old, Something
New.” The theme will be most evident in the decoration of floats and
horses in the parade, Parrish said.
The Newberg Old Fashioned Festival committee has been meeting
monthly to plan the festival since the beginning of the year,
according to Parrish. In July, the committee of 19 community members
will meet each week until the festival.
“(The Old Fashioned Festival) is good publicity for the area,”
Parrish said. “We say we have the second largest parade and festival
in Oregon — that might just be bragging, but it’s close.”
Parrish said that this year’s fireworks display, one of the
highlights of the festival, could be the last one because of the
cost of them.
“The entertainment and the fireworks are the two main expenditures
(of the festival),” he said.
While the entertainment is mostly funded by local sponsors, he
added, the fireworks have traditionally been largely funded by the
City of Newberg.
This year, the city will vote on budget cuts which could include
the fireworks funding, Parrish said. If the city cut funding for the
event, he said, “It would have to be scaled down.”
However, the fireworks are safe for this year, at least. “We have
always had an excellent fireworks display, and we’ll have it this
year, too,” Parrish said.
One Old Fashioned Festival event not organized by the festival
committee is the pancake feed, presented by the Newberg Early
Morning Rotary and Noon Rotary clubs.
Officially known as the Joe Schneider Memorial Pancake Breakfast,
the event has been a festival fixture since 1966, according to
longtime Rotarian Ray Simonsen. The clubs serve an average of 3,500
breakfasts each year, he said.
The breakfast, featuring “all-you-can-eat pancakes, with or without
blueberries,” will be held in Memorial Park from 6 a.m. to noon
Saturday and 7 a.m. to noon Sunday. Proceeds will benefit youth
programs locally and nationally. |
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From
June 20,
2007, Newberg Graphic
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