Making beautiful music together

Couple will tie the knot at festival

By VICKI STEVENS
Staff Writer

The Great American Brass Band Festival will have a first this year - a wedding.

Trumpet player Vince DiMartino, who helped start the festival 10 years ago, and his fiancee, Patti Powell, plan to tie the knot Saturday during a ceremony at the gazebo in Weisiger Park. Festival-goers are invited to witness the event, which takes place at 4:30 p.m.

In planning their wedding, the Danville couple knew that they wanted it to be a happy, festive occasion rather than a solemn, formal event.

``We both agreed that we didn't want a formal church wedding, and this was a big festive occasion anyway,'' says Powell. ``The atmosphere is a fun, happy time.''

It was DiMartino who first jokingly suggested that they get married during the festival. The couple were trying to plan around DiMartino's busy schedule. A music professor at Centre College, he has just a few weeks after the spring semester ends until he heads to New York to teach classes at Skidmore College during the summer.

``I said we could get married at the Brass Band Festival, sort of as a joke,'' says DiMartino. As the couple talked about it, though, it didn't seem like such a bad idea. In fact, they found some compelling reasons for why they should.

The timing was right, the atmosphere is festive, and all their friends would be there anyway. Add to that some sentimental reasons:

DiMartino co-founded the Great American Brass Band Festival with George Foreman, director of the Norton Center for the Arts, and plays at the event each year.

The gazebo, located in a pretty setting in Weisiger Park next to the Boyle County Courthouse, was donated by James Charlotte Norvell in memory of her late husband, Jimmy Norvell. Jimmy Norvell was a close personal friend of Powell's father. The two grew up together in Perryville and played together in bands. Like Stuart Powell, Norvell also operated a Ford car dealership in Danville.

DiMartino is a member of The Advocate Brass Band, which performs regular concerts at the gazebo.

The Powells have been a corporate sponsor of the festival each year, and also sponsor a balloon during the annual balloon race.

Given all of that, getting married in Weisiger Park during the festival seemed like an obvious choice.

Saturday's wedding will include lots of brass music. DiMartino's son, Gabriel, 14, will play the processional on the trumpet, and The Millenium Brass quintet also will perform. DiMartino is part of the group but won't be playing with them at the wedding.

Foreman will be the best man; Powell's sister, Pam, the maid of honor; and DiMartino's daughters, Kathryn, 9, and Erica, 7, the flower girls.

Because seating at the gazebo is limited, only about 15 chairs will be available for the immediate family. In case of rain, the wedding will be moved to First Christian Church.

Powell, vice president at Stuart Powell Ford, will arrive at the ceremony with her father in a Model A Ford. After exchanging their vows, she and DiMartino will leave together in the vintage car.

The couple's wedding trip will wait until after the festival. DiMartino is scheduled to perform Saturday evening with the Advocate Brass Band to kick off the picnic and again on Sunday with both the Advocate band and The Millenium Brass.

The newlyweds will have an informal reception during the picnic Saturday evening.