Full of color and fun, the Old Fashioned Festival draws the community together

The midway
   Friday afternoon brought sunny skies and balmy temperatures to festival-goers. As the work day wasn’t quite over yet for the adult population of Newberg, it was mostly teenagers hanging around the rides and walking around the food court, with a sprinkling of mothers keeping a watchful eye on the littler ones.
   David Clark, and his buddy Tanner Maxwell, both 12, had the festival all figured out. They were going to be riding on Saturday, they explained while hanging with the other BMX riders. The reason was obvious to them: Saturday had the longest opening hours and hence the longest time to enjoy the rides.
   While the friends enjoyed the bumper cars, the pendulum that is the Ali Baba and Wacky World, their favorite is the “Sizzler.” The motion of the ride was to their liking. “I like being on the outside and being crushed,” Clark said.
   The food court was a bit quieter with the exception of the area around the sound stage. Local dance groups were following each others with energetic routines performed to dance music tunes. A group of teenage girls would vocally support their friends as they performed with shrill calls of “We love you.”
   It wasn’t all fun and games for teen-agers present Friday afternoon. Queen Sarah Lowe, accompanied by Princesses Amanda Palacios and Loli Pena, were individually thanking merchants for their support and handing them blue ribbons.

The Parade
   Bearing lawn chairs and blankets, Newberg residents lined the street Sunday morning for the Old Fashioned Festival’s annual parade.
   “It’s probably our fourth year watching the parade,” said Carrie Looney of Newberg, stationed on Third Street with her husband Mark and son Paul. “I grew up watching the parade, now I’m bringing my son.”
   The parade also drew visitors from out of the area, including Dan and Kim Swanson of Seattle.
   “It’s our second visit. Kim’s mom, Becky Greene, works for the city, and I was in the 5K run last Sunday,” Dan Swanson said.
   Greene, who drove a Corvette bearing Queen Sarah Lowe and her court, had a special prize for her 2-year-old grandson: a pair of matchbox cars.
   “That’s even better than candy,” Dan laughed as his son collected the gift.
   Also in attendance was retired fire chief Elmer Christensen: “I just love parades,” he said. “I think I’ve made it to most all of them in the 24 years I’ve lived here.”
   The theme of “Something Old and Something New,” drew a number of inventive entries, including a float from the Newberg Earlybird Rotary Club depicting the former Red Electric train and Portland’s present-day MAX.
   City council member Bob Larson got into the spirit by appearing on a Segway, a speedy two-wheeled electric device balanced by a computer-controlled gyroscope.
   “I haven’t seen one of these in Newberg, so that’s the something new — the something old is myself,” Larson joked. “I had the idea a year ago. Council member Roger Currier always rides a bike, so this is similar.”
   Currier appeared on a 1975 Honda CB 750 motorcycle; the remainder of the seven-member council rode in the back of a pickup. Other VIPs in the parade included 2006 Citizen of the Year, ex-mayor Bob Stewart; Junior Citizen of the Year Roxanne Dryer; Businessperson of the Year Kris Horn; 1943 Rose Festival princess Faye McGrath; and parade grand marshal Polly Siler, executive director of Love INC (In the Name of Christ).
   One entry managed to be both old and new: a delegation from Newberg’s sister city of Asago, Japan, performed a traditional dance called “yosakoi,” behind a leader twirling an outsized flag with stenciled Japanese characters.
   “The flag says ‘wa,’ meaning friendship or cooperation,” explained Michio Venobou, one of the dancers and a teacher at Wadayama Junior High in Asago. “It’s also part of the name of our school.”
   Venobou said this was the first appearance of visitors from Newberg’s sister city in Japan for seven years, the previous entry being a group of taiko drummers.
   “We’re staying for three days — we’ve enjoyed the fair and are looking forward to dinner with the mayor,” she said. “Before we leave, we’re driving up to Mt. Hood and the Gorge to go sightseeing while we’re here.”

Car show draws a crowd
   Auto enthusiasts turned out in droves Sunday afternoon to see shiny classic cars during the Old Fashioned Festival Cruise’ In.
   More than 50 cars, spanning from the 1930s to the 1970s, lined Sixth Street for the event, put on by festival committee members Pete and Carri Horvath. Cars competed for titles in categories including Best ‘50s, Best ‘60s, Best Convertible and Best Import.
   In addition, the annual Engine Blow drew dozens to Renne Field. A Pontiac, donated by Pam Pam’s Auto Wrecking of Dayton, had all the fluids removed from the engine. Spectators paid $1 to guess how long the engine would run without water. Proceeds benefited Newberg High School FFA.