Foreman estimates 52,000 attended festival, a record

Publication Date: 06/17/02

By HERB BROCK
Staff Writer

The way George Foreman sees it, Danville can hardly be seen as a town of party poopers. In fact, it's just the opposite.

"There are a lot of people out there looking for a good time. You just have to know how to get them to come to your party," said Foreman.

For 13 years, Foreman has been throwing one of the biggest parties around -- not just around Danville but the whole state of Kentucky. And for 13 years, he has known how to get people to come to it -- not just from Danville but from around the whole country and even some foreign countries.

Foreman's day job is managing director of the Norton Center for the Arts, but he has moonlighted since 1990 as a premier party thrower -- as founder and organizer of the Great American Brass Band Festival.

And while his party has drawn huge crowds in the
past, the 13th edition held this past weekend topped the previous 12, Foreman said.

He estimated that more than 50,000 people attended the 2002 festival and that would be a record.

"It was wonderful," said Foreman. "The crowd for the picnic Saturday was enormous. Probably the biggest ever. And we never had that many people for our Sunday concerts. It had the look of a Saturday night crowd."

The whole festival had the look of big crowds
everywhere, every hour. Throngs people surrounded the Weisiger Park gazebo and Centre College Main Stage all day Saturday and the Main Stage Saturday night. Thousands lined Main Street for the Saturday parade. A huge crowd turned out for the Sunday morning worship service and thousands packed the grounds in front of the Main Stage on Sunday afternoon and evening.

And while there was a small city of people at Centre Sunday evening, at the same time a big crowd of people attended the Great American Balloon Race at the Danville-Boyle County Airport. The race had been scheduled as usual for Friday evening but was postponed to Sunday due to blustery conditions.

"That there would be a conflict (between the Sunday evening concert at Centre and the balloon race in Junction City) and each event would still draw big crowds, that's a testament to the appeal of the festival," Foreman said.

So Foreman's estimate of the total number of people who attended all festival events is 52,000, far surpassing recent crowds in the 35,000 to 40,000 range. And these people, he said, saw what he considers to have been the "best festival ever."

He attributes the record attendance to several factors, including cooler-than-usual temperatures, the still-growing reputation of the festival as a major international brass band event, and the post-Sept. 11 "Celebrate America" patriotic theme of the 2002 festival.

Highlighting this year's theme -- and "definitely a big reason for Sunday evening's huge crowd," said Foreman -- was the performance by Daniel Rodriguez, the "singing policeman" from New York City who has gained national renown for his moving renditions of patriotic songs at events honoring those who died in the attacks on the Twin Towers and at such other major events as the World Series.

"Daniel's performance was the perfect end to a festival dedicated to patriotism. It struck just the right chord," said Foreman.

The GABBF founder and organizer soon will begin making plans for the 2003 festival. But today, he's resting up and enjoying the memories of the latest and best festival to date.

"The festival is not just about big crowds. It's also
about creating new friendships," said Foreman. 

"People from Danville are becoming friends with
people from around the country, and I've become
friends with brass musicians from around the world.

"This event is not just about numbers of people that come to the party. 

"It's also about the friendships you make while you're there."