MOOO-VING RIGHT ALONG

      "In addition to the shows, parade, and dairy exhibits, we will have continuous music all weekend," said Enosburg Lions President Bob May. The 45th annual Vermont Dairy Festival runs next weekend, May 31 through June 3, in downtown Enosburg Falls.
      National Dairy Month begins June 1, so the Vermont Dairy Festival celebrates Milk ... the Moo-ving Drink, Franklin County's most important agricultural product, with plenty of family events and Moo-ving Moo-sic. Starting with the Dairy Scholarship Pageant in the Opera House Thursday evening, May 31, the Dairy Festival kicks off the month with four days of entertainment for a good cause. popular bathtub races, cow plop bingo, and pedal pulls, agricultural displays, a dairy baking contest, a fabulous midway, a parade, and the "finest horse pull in the East."
      Food concessions will cover Lincoln Park with "fair" food for a great cause. (The food is great, but the Dairy Festival is, after all, a fair.) "This is our primary fund raiser," said Bob May of the activity that help the Lions continue community service activities such as international eye and hearing care, plus local disaster relief.
      The AAC has created a statewide showcase of popular groups from across New England. Dairy Festival entertainers will perform on both the Lincoln Park bandstand and a Main Street stage.
      Friday evening features the EFHS Jazz Band, the popular local rock 'n' roll of Silverback, and Clint Holmes.
      The EFHS Jazz Band (on the Band Stand) is a superb jazz band playing the classics to modern masters.
      BMI/ASCAP songwriter and guitar soloist Clint Holmes has recently returned to the area after several years playing in Nashville. He will play plenty of pure country music on the Main Street Stage. Raised in Richford, Clint is on Cameo Fox Records and happy "to be back home."
      Silverback headlines Friday night in their debut outdoor concert with a broad spectrum of hits and original, funky tunes on the Band Stand. "Electric" Ben Weed, lead guitar, Dan "Silverback" Marcotte, bass, "Crazy Mike" Stebbins, vocals and trombone, "6 foot 2" Sarah Willey, vocals, and Chad "Deckstripe" Sandvil, drums bring gutsy vocals, blaring trombone, and jammin' guitar riffs to the music of Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd to Tracy Chapman and Phish.
      Saturday is Country Music Day in Enosburg Falls with the Dairy Festival parade, the True Value Constry Showdown, and the music of Scott Wright and the Main-ely Country Band, the Northeast Fiddlers Association, an AAC/Kept Writer medley, and the free fireworks.
      The 45th annual Moo-ving Parade starts at 10:30 sharp with bands, floats, fire trucks, clowns, antique cars, milk trucks, animals, riders, clubs, groups, organizations, individuals, and commercial entries.
      The 45th annual Moo-ving Parade starts at 10:30 sharp with bands, floats, fire trucks, clowns, antique cars, milk trucks, animals, riders, clubs, groups, organizations, individuals, and commercial entries.
      "New England's hoofed ambassadors of good will," the Fernald Lumber Yankee Hitch team draws a meticulously restored Yankee Hitch delivery wagon like those used by lumber companies the 19th century. The wagon is drawn by six Belgian draft horses. Driven by wagon master Tyke Frost, each of Fernald's horses are geldings, carefully selected for standards of color, size, style, spirit, and action. To make the Fernald team, a horse must stand more than six feet at the shoulder and weigh at least 2,000 pounds. The performance, music, and narration showcases the power, grace, and discipline of the animals' choreography, spins, and runs. They will "strut their stuff" on Saturday and Sunday at noon.
      Ten finalists will perform in the True Value Country Showdown, the nation's largest country music talent search. Performers here compete to perform at the State Championship held in Manchester, NH, on their way to a $50,000 prize in the national showdown at Universal City Florida. "The acts come from Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, and Quebec," said Matt Henry. "This is a terrific lineup."
      Soloists and bands competing include last year's local and state winner Candace Myers, past local winner (and Summer Sounds performer) Val Chagnon, Renee Cumm, Bonnie Drake, Scott Lavalee (formerly of Black Star), Sharyl Lariviere, the band Nka-Hoots, Carol Vee, the band Wild Card, and Mindy Wojewodzic.
      The Showdown is designed to find the most promising country talent in the United States. Thousands of artists compete each year. The road to country music stardom begins on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the eight steps up to the Lincoln Park bandstand. Hosts Scott Wright and the Maine-ly Country Band will supply backup and technical support for the finalists. The True Value Country Showdown is sponsored and operated by Matt Henry and Radio WLFE-102.3 FM. Three sets of country music with Scott Wright follow the Showdown.
      Scott Wright and the Maine-ly Country Band bring together classic country, gospel, country rock, rockabilly, and even barbershopping and make it into country music that is smooth and sweet. The band includes Scott Wright, vocals, Jeff Simon, lead guitar, Lee Mallory, drums, Brenda Washell, bass guitar, J. T. Wade, keyboard, Sonny Bickford, steel guitar.
      Scott Wright and the Maine-ly Country Band brought home several awards including best gospel song for Where The River Ends and second place for bluegrass Cheryl Does from the international competition in Pigeon Forge Tennessee. The band won first place as best vocal group and will represent the State of Maine in Las Vegas in October. Scott was also a True Value competitor from Maine last year. In addition to taking home a bushel basketful of music trophies at most competitions, they also won a Comedy Award from the Down East Country Music Association last year. They will be on the Bandstand at 5, 7, and 9 p.m., leading right into the free fireworks.
      The All Arts Council and the Kept Writer Bookshop/Cafe sponsor an open mike night each month. Dozens of folk, rock, jazz, and alternative performers have stood or sat under the spotlight. This medley will present four of the best groups and solo performers who started off with us with great voices, guitar riffs, and even some funny gags, all at 4 p.m. on the Main Street stage.
      The two-set Fiddling Variety Show, a favorite showcase of Canadian and American talent, brings fiddlers, callers, dancers, pickers, comedy, and more to the Dairy Festival Saturday evening at 6 and 8 on the Main Street Stage.
      There is no rest for the Lions on Sunday as they celebrate Family Day in the Burg.
      Mark and Donna Shelton of WOW! start the entertainment with everything from Elvis to Neil Diamond to Christian Country music. The duo made its Franklin County debut at the AAC CoffeeHouse this spring. They bring their ministry of music to us from Newport, Vermont, at 11 a.m. Sunday on the Main Street stage.
      Banjo Dan and the Midnight Plowboys have spent more than 25 years touring and playing Vermont's favorite bluegrass. Their show mixes high energy, humor, and the unpretentious songs of the lives and loves and memories of the people we all grew up with. Banjo Dan and the Band have played and the Got Milk Summer Sounds. They have released nine albums including Some Rust, Runs Good.
      Influenced by Cajun, country, rock, jazz, and blues, they bring Al Davis, guitar, Willy Lindner, mandolin, Jason Bergman, fiddle, John Henry Drake, big acoustic bass, Banjo Dan Lindner's banjo (naturally), and some of the tightest harmonies on any stage to the Band Stand on Sunday at 12:30 and 2:30.
      Dynamic stage hypnotist Michael Blaine has already mesmerized thousands of people across the country. Franklin County's friends and family are likely to become Elvis, The Rockettes, or in a tip to the long running Opera House pageant, Miss America on the Main Street stage. He comes to Dairy Days from performances at the Texas/Oklahoma Fair, Caesars Atlantic City, the Ira Allen Chapel, and Champlain College. He makes believers out of skeptics while he helps people laugh and have fun. His unique gift is releasing the latent talent of his subjects.
      Michael Blaine will also be on the grounds during the day Sunday to meet Festival goers and to talk about hypnosis. (I would have written more, but Michael Blaine made me stop.)
      See the magic of the mind on the Main Street stage at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
      The Enosburg Lions have contributed more than $315,000 to area school projects, community health services, Enosburg public library, family assistance and drug/alcohol programs, fire and ambulance services, other non-profit organizations, scholarships, senior citizen programs, as well as the Lions International sight and hearing programs. The Vermont Dairy Festival is the Lions' primary source of funding for these programs.
      The Lions health watch at the Dairy Festival has expanded this year.
      All adults over the age of 45 should be tested regularly for diabetes, says the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. About 16 million Americans have diabetes, but only half are diagnosed. "Five cases were discovered at the Dairy Festival last year," said King Lion Bob May which means potentially life-saving treatment could begin early. Patients with diabetes will have a better chance, thanks to the volunteer efforts and free testing at the Dairy Festival all weekend.
      If your family has a history of osteoporosis, if you are thin, white, or Asian, if you smoke or have used steroids for long periods of time, or if you are sedentary, then you are at higher risk for osteoporosis and should be screened. Anyone, male or female, should also partake of the free bone density scans the Dairy Festival all weekend.
      The Dairy Festival midway opens at 6 p.m. tonight. Continuous entertainment starts Friday evening at 5 p.m. and the weekend activities begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday in downtown Enosburg Falls.

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      Some of the Vermont Dairy Festival performers have web sites.
      The Fernald Lumber Yankee Hitch
      Scott Wright and the Maine-ly Country Band
     Michael Blaine
      The True Value Country Showdown
      The complete rundown for the Dairy Festival, and for the Band Stand and Main Street entertainment can be found at vtdairyfest.com. Check back during the weekend; Joe and Edy will probably have your picture up on the vtdairyfest.com site.

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      Complete information about the festival and the entire schedule of events is available on the Dairy Festival site. Here is the entertainment schedule.

All Arts Council of Franklin County

Dick Harper, Chair
P.O. Box 1
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
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