06
A Small-Town Celebration
Posted by newscoma | Posted in Newscoma, Newspapers, Northwest Tennessee, Television, Tennessee | Posted on 06-09-2007
I am not a person that gives two hoots about celebrities. With that said, the Tennessee Soybean Festival is happening in West Hooterville this week and it tends to be one of the best, small-town festivals around here.
It’s actually a blast. Martin opens up its downtown area, they have bands, a small carnival and it is exceptionally well run and has grown over the years.
Friday night, Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees is playing. I loved the Monkees, had the movie “Head” on a beta tape and really dig “Last Train to Clarksville.” I love cultish kind of folks like this. (I got to see John Waters give a lecture at The Daisy in Memphis after a showing of Pink Flamingos about ten years ago. A highlight for me, I assure you.)
Small-town festivals are a great deal of work in the newspaper business. Last week, John Carney at Lake Neuron spoke of working at the Tennessee Walking Horse fest in Shelbyville. This is the time of year where small towns just sort of bulk together. Last year was a lot of fun and last night, as we celebrated Badger’s birthday (did you go wish her a Happy Birthday? You should have) they were having a concert on the commons which will continue until Saturday night. You could hear the music sweeping through town.
The commons are interesting. A huge stage covers the grounds as building that are over a 100 years old loom in the background. They are lovely.
As I drove into town yesterday, I saw a sign asking for a traveling carny, which I am going to go take a picture of it today. (Should Squirrel Queen and I apply?) I’ve noticed church signs have changed their sayings of faith, hoping to convert a few new Christians as roughly 60,000 people showed up last year.
There’s a funnel cake booth ready for some of my money right around the corner from the paper (my annual funnel cake is purchased this time of year.) Everyone is smiling. Last year, with the elections, politicians showed up like crazy but won’t be around this year (always happens.)
Squirrel Queen has a football game that is away on Friday, so I may trek to the festival by myself to see Mickey Dolenz. I will remember being a kid and watching The Monkees when it came on after school when I only had three channels. I had tickets to go to the Vols game this weekend, but it conflicted. Maybe later this year for that but you only get to see a Monkee once, right?
And most everyone is smiling. And that, my friends, is of the good.
the fair sounds fun. did you know that Mickey Dolenz is credited as being one of the recent voices of Snuggles the Bear (the fabric softener teddy bear icon) in ads?
I didn’t, Jen.
He was always my favorite Monkee.
If I had to choose between going to see one of the Monkees and going to a Vols game, it’d be no contest: the Monkees would win every time.
I was working at a large music industry company when Davy Jones came in for meetings and some sort of honorary party. An entire company went nuts, the women in accounting screamed, people asked for autographs, it was really strange. We had celebrities in all the time and Davy Jones got the most unprofessional, over the top reaction of anybody. I rode the elevator with him, assisted and maintained his event schedule for the day and he was so cool. No extra people, no entourage just a tiny little english man. I couldn’t ask for an autograph but I think I would lose it for Mickey.
Mickey was my favorite.
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