Souvenirs remind people what they love about festival

By REBECCA NEAL
Staff Writer

When it comes to souvenirs, the items that festival-goers hunt down are the pins.
“It’s interesting to see the styles, each of the different pins they come up with,” said George Rodelius of Lexington.
His wife said the pins are a small memento of their yearly excursion.
“It’s a good reminder of the bands and all the great music we love,” Mary Rodelius said.
Some display their pins on shirts, others opt for hats festooned with the colorful pins.
“It’s just part of what you do to celebrate this,” said Patricia Keefe of Richmond.
If collectors haven’t been to every festival, it can be difficult to track down those missing years. Pins from the first few festivals are getting hard to find.
“I paid $20 for this first-year pin,” Keefe said, pointing at her hat.
Pins make a great accessory to the annual Great American Brass Band Festival t-shirts. Linda and Steve Boyle of Lexington have every festival shirt. They’re a good conversation starter and collectable, they said.
“You can keep the shirts and remember the festival,” Steve Boyle said.
The Boyle family collects all types of festival memorabilia.
“We’ve got some pins and posters and a lot of pictures,” Linda Boyle said.
In the end, it’s money well spent. Attendees said their collections help them remember what they love about the festival.
“We wear them as a memory — they never go out of style,” Doris Lively of LaGrange said about her pins.

This story ran in the Advocate on June 15, 2003.