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This is Page 1 of 4 of Croaker Festival 2006
Croaker
Festival 2006 in Oriental may have played to a smaller crowd
- but we saw happy smiles among the thousands that did attend.
Faye
Bond shows her patriotic colors in a trip down memory
lane (Mona Kay Sadler photo)
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For
the past month media around the state seem to have talked
about nothing but "Tall Ships - Tall Ships" - the
event being held in Beaufort
and Morehead City the same weekend as CroakerFest. That advertising
blitz was tough to fight, and Head Croaker Candy Bohmert
estimated the crowds were down about half from last year - "we
think we had about 4 to 5 thousand"
Bohmert said.
"Vendors said all events they have attended
so far this year have had fewer people" Bohmert added.
Gas prices are suspected as a likely reason. Add to that the
highly advertised "Tall Ships" event just a few miles
down the road - and the effect was there.
But the Croaker Fest volunteer
team pulled off a great weekend - a creative parade, and
the festival lead to a spectacular firworks show Saturday
night.
About that parade....
Parade
Master Paul Fairbank talks to the Marine band before
the parade starts. This may be the only opportunity
Paul has to tell a group of Marines what to do.
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The
Marines follow direction well.
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Leading
the parade...
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A
parade favorite - the Official Garbology Vehicle
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Parade
Winners - The Ladies of the Neuse Trophies
Overall
Grand Prize: Mainsail Point - a giant fish with
a dragon's tail.
Grosvenor
Barber provided parade propulsion for TownDock.net's
new "MobileCam" - winner of the
"Most Hi-Tech" award.
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Most
Hi-tech: TownDock.net "MobileCam" wagon
Best
Ride Down Memory Lane: Faye Bond wearing the dress that
her mother Erma Midyette used to wear in the parade.
Best
Representation of "Land of Leisure Living": Cartwright House B & B.
Float was model of front porch with guests sipping coffee
and wine.
Most
Finely Crafted Boat and Fish: Tom and Liz Lathrop's wood
speed boat with matching croaker fish.
Best
Water Usage: 4-H. An inflatable pool & 4-H
members swith squirt guns spraying the crowd.
Croakiest
Cheerleader: 4-H
Best
Antiques: Wallace Glover and friend riding antique pedal
bikes.
Most
Patriotic: Skeeter Creek Yacht Club
Most
Blatantly Frivolous: Red Hatters Club
Best
Mermaid: Annie Austindorf. Annie was one of two mermaids entered.
Most
Creative: Pamlico Pediatrics.
Best
Boats: Children's
Theater.
Group
Most Supportive of Women's Club: Harley Davidson riders.
Marguerite Garret explains - "one
of the Women's Club members was dragging a cooler full of
iced drinks down the parade route selling them for a $1.00
apiece as a fundraiser. The spectators weren't buying
them because most of the people had brought their own water.
The Harley riders had forgotten theirs so they were buying
the the $1.00 bottle for $2.00".
