Band fest mementos on sale

By Herb Brock
Staff Writer

Although it is still 1 1/2 weeks away, you don't have to wait that long to buy mementos of the seventh annual Great American Brass Band Festival.

Festival T-shirts and pins are on sale now at various locations in Danville, while posters can be purchased at Norton Center on the Centre College campus.

``To give you an idea of how popular these items are, we haven't until now publicized that these things are on sale but we're already having to reorder some things,'' said Baker Williams, who, along with his wife, Leslie, is in charge of arranging the sale of festival merchandise.

T-shirts are priced at $12 each and come in sizes for small children all the way up to double extra large. They are being sold at the following locations: Constitution Square gift shop, Derby Shoppe, Super America, Centre Shoppes Bookstore, Kids Alley and the Norton Center ticket office. The shirts also will be sold at Wal-Mart SuperCenter starting Friday.

The pins cost $4 each and are on sale at the following locations: Constitution Square, Bank One, Farmers National Bank, Central Kentucky Federal Savings Bank, National City Bank, First Resource Federal Credit Union, Centre Shoppes, Kids Alley and the Norton Center ticket office. The pins will be sold at Wal-Mart starting Friday.

The posters cost $10 each and are being sold at the ticket office at the Norton Center.

The same merchandise, plus cassette tapes and other mementos of the host band, the Advocate Brass Band, will be sold during the festival, June 14-16. The festival market will be under a tent at the corner of College and West Walnut streets, next to the dining commons at Centre.

``It might be advisable for local people to buy some of the items now instead of waiting for the festival when thousands of folks from out of town will be doing their shopping,'' said Williams. ``Last year, we sold out of T-shirts on Saturday. All we could do Sunday is take orders.''

In addition to festival and Advocate Brass Band items, also on sale at the festival market will be a variety of items from several of the guest bands, Williams said.

``We're expecting 1,000-2,000 items from the visiting bands also to be on sale at the market,'' he said. ``We'll have everything from T-shirts to tapes. One band, the Olympia Brass, is selling a special cookie jar for $150 each.''