Music lovers flock to festival

Betty and Keith Skelton came early Saturday and picked out a nice spot to set up their lawnchairs and umbrella for the seventh annual Great American Brass Band Festival. As they do each year, the couple from Brownstown, Ind., were making a weekend of watching the bands perform.

``It's like an old-time family picnic get-together,'' said Mrs. Skelton. ``This is a beautiful town. The whole atmosphere is conducive to just sitting here and relaxing. It takes a few days after you leave here for the songs to quit going through your mind.''

The Skeltons missed the first Brass Band festival because they hadn't heard about it, but they've been here every year since then.

``The variety is what makes it interesting,'' said Skelton, a retired high school band director who has a business repairing musical instruments. ``I'm a musician -- play clarinet -- and I do band and orchestra and German band and a Dixie Land band. I just enjoy the music.''

The couple said George Foreman, director of Centre College's Norton Center for the Arts, and othe festival organizers put together an excellent show and keep the performances on schedule.

``It's perfect. Everything is just done so well,'' said Mrs. Skelton.

Her husband attended the history conference Friday at Centre College. ``Those conferences are really great,'' he said. ``Even as much as I've been involved in music, I still learn something each year Ï because it's such a unique thing.''

Fred Evans, nephew of the late Merle Evans, who was bandmaster for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, spoke at the history conference. He and his wife, Sheila, and their young sons, Sean, 6, and Cole, 11 months, were among the hundreds of people who lined Main Street for the parade Saturday.

The family lives in Lexington, Neb., and had never been to the festival before. ``We've sure enjoyed the town and the hospitality. Everyone's been very kind,'' said Evans.

They took in the balloon race Friday, and Sean and his dad got to go up in a bi-plane at the Junction City airport.

New to this year's festival were three circus wagons from the International Circus Hall of Fame in Peru, Ind. One of the wagons was built in 1903 and featured prancing horses and a dog's head on the sides.

``This is the only wagon of its kind left in the world. The others are replicas,'' said Maggie Mattingly. ``They've been all over the country.''

During the parade, members of Windjammers Unlimited rode on the wagons. The band is made up of members from all over the country, and this was their first time to perform here.

Dick and Connie Thomas of Dayton, Ohio, both play trumpet for the Windjammers and have been coming to the festival for five years. Mrs. Thomas said the main group is staying in Harrodsburg this weekend but came into Danville and canvassed the town. Some of them heard the pancakes are good at Main Street Restaurant and decided to check them out.

By mid-afternoon Saturday, the big map near the Chamber of Commerce information booth showed festival-goers had come from as far away as California, Alaska and Maine as well as 12 foreign countries.

The sunshine made for good attendance. ``It's certainly as strong as it's been, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's not larger,'' said Chamber president Shirley Clark.

``We've had a lot more contacts during the winter months this time because of the program being on PBS.''

Jim Calvert and his wife, Hazel, of Indianapolis, Ind., said this was their first festival. Calvert plays clarinet with Indianapolis Symphonic Band, one of the new groups performing this year, and the couple said they had driven around the city Friday.

``Frankly, I'd never heard of Danville, Kentucky, but I think I'll remember it -- it's very impressive,'' said Mrs. Calvert.

The picnic Saturday afternoon lived up to its reputation for elaborate themes and decorations.

``Cannibal Cafe, We Would Love to Have You for Dinner'' was the theme of Ephraim and Linda Helton's table.

The idea came from his daughter's T-shirt from the Caribbean. The Heltons and three other couples dressed as cannibals in masks, grass skirts, sarongs, face paint and spiked hair; had a cauldron of stew and bones; and dined on eyeballs (olives), ribs, blood (tomato soup), fingerlicking fingers (chicken fingers) and other delicacies.

Roy and Lucy Meyers of Lexington, who own Ala Lucie and Roy and Nadine's restaurants in Lexington, did the food and took part in the event.