Choose from not one but three T-shirts

By JULIE CLAY

Staff Writer

One of the greatest things about the Great American Brass Band Festival is the stuff you can take home with you to relive the patriotic memories of Sousa wafting over the crowds.

This year features not one, but three shirts, to salute the international flavor of the festival. The first is designed by Pat Gerhard, whose brightly colored 1998 shirt was the festival's most popular. Gerhard's design features all the flags of the participating nations and a marching sousaphone player.

The shirt comes in yellow, purple and white and is guaranteed not to fade. Gerhard said she is using a different company to silkscreen the shirts than was used in 1998, when people experienced fading after the shirts were washed.

George Foreman, president and co-founder of the GABBF, liked Gerhard's tropical designs and bright colors but this year's T-shirt is a more traditional red, white and blue.

"It seemed like a good idea to include the flags," Gerhard said. "And that's how the color thing happened. How do you do patriotic tropical? I ran out of room or we would have had some parrots."

The shirt had to be redesigned twice after the Swedish and Mexican bands opted out of the festival and Gerhard said she fought for the United States flag to be at the bottom since it was the host country. The flags are arranged in alphabetical order now, she said.

The second shirt is designed by Italian designer Domenico Fiorentino, who is from Positano. Two tubas in yellow, red, white and blue on a black T-shirt feature the words for "Welcome" in each of six languages in white all over the shirt. Fiorentino's design is also on this year's festival pin.

Golf shirts will be available again this year in navy, white and forest green emblazoned with the GABBF logo of a trumpet surrounded by an eagle.

This year's poster features a Sicilian Easter pageant scene painted by Italian artist Totó Bonanno. During the parade of religious icons through the streets of Ragusa, Italy, brass bands play in between statues. Bonanno, who lives in Palermo, has exhibited his work in Louisville at the Humana Building and the Yvonne Rapp Gallery as well as all over Europe since 1956. His work is in collections from the United States to Turkey and also in the Vatican collection of modern religious art.