| Subject: Check out todays Paper! We got a Plug for the Pageant Thanks Dale! |
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Grace James
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Date Posted: 19:50:36 09/08/08 Mon
MILTON — It’s harvest season in Milton, and its bumper crop is people.
The 32nd annual Milton Harvest Festival, labeled “Harvesting Our Traditions” kicks off this weekend.
If for some reason you’re not yet familiar with the event, the festival is believed to be the largest draw in Milton during the year.
Dale Kriner, who’s chaired the festival for 17 years, expects this year to be even bigger than before.
A steady slate of events are planned for this weekend, next week and next weekend. Two events in particular have swelled in size.
Grace James, who has been all over the state and country running pageants, took the helm of the pageant for the younger girls.
Kriner said 43 girls will be competing, compared to single digits last year.
Two new misses will be crowned this year, in addition to the traditional Little Miss and Junior Miss. A 4-year-old will be named Mini Miss and a 5-year-old will be selected as Dainty Miss. Little Miss is for 6-year-olds and a Junior Miss is picked from 10- to 12-year-olds.
“A 4-year-old (competing) against a 6-year-old can be intimidating,” Kriner said of making the change and adding the Miss divisions.
The girls, including the Harvest Festival Princess contestants, will be holding dress rehearsals this week, getting ready to show their stuff. The Milton Harvest Festival Princess Pageant is slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Milton Area High School. The younger misses will be competing at 7 p.m. next Monday, Sept. 15, at the high school. Admission for each is $5.
The festival’s Tournament of Bands, which returned last year after a long hiatus, has doubled in size.
Brett Hosterman, band director at the Milton Area High School and organizer of the tournament, said extra planning time has netted 13 bands. Invitations were mailed to more than 150 schools in a three state area.
In addition to the high school bands that will be competing, Kutztown University, in the area because of a football game with Bloomsburg, will offer a special performance.
Hosterman said this tournament is one of the fastest growing competitions in the nine-state Atlantic Coast area.
“The Milton Harvest Festival Tournament of Bands is for many bands, the kickoff to their competitive seasons,” Hosterman said. “I am excited to see what the future holds for this show.”
The band director added this has only been possible because of the support of volunteers and local business, including ConAgra, which is sponsoring the trophies.
Support and dedication in general is what has been keeping the Milton Harvest Festival rolling, Kriner said.
“There are people on these committees who refuse to let it die,” he said. “And the people and businesses within this community continue to support it.
“As long as the demand is there.”
The longtime chairman added they’re always open to new volunteers who want to step up. It’s always the hope that the Milton Harvest Festival is just one of the events that puts Milton on the map.
“Hopefully we’re just setting an example,” he said. Events like the Milton Harvest Festival “tells surrounding communities Milton is still alive.”
For many, Kriner said the festival serves as a homecoming. Many former Milton High classes seem to be scheduling their reunions on the weekends of the event.
“This is an opportunity to see people in the downtown you haven’t talked to for months.”
There will be an opportunity to talk to an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people on parade day, Sept. 20. Kriner assumes the crowds will be larger with the increased number of marching bands participating in the parade, starting at 1 p.m. In the evening, starting at 6 on Alumni Field, the band tournament begins.
During the day in the downtown, this Saturday and next, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will be plenty of arts and crafts, antiques and food stands. Kriner said 115 vendors have signed up for the first Saturday and there are 130 slated for the second Saturday, called Festival Day. There are still a few more spaces for vendors, if interested. Call Gerry Walters at 742-9460 for more information.
For more information on the Milton Harvest Festival, visit the official Web site at www.miltonharvestfestival.org.
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