Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 129, Number 29, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 20 July 2006 — Page 18

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Explore Wa-Nee • July 27,2006

Apple Festival continues to improve

By Anthony Gadson Editor Going into the 30th Annual Nappanee Apple Festival, chairman Gale Gerber was prepared for it to be his last, but now he's not so sure. "We, as a committee, have worked hard to build the festival to where it is, and we just don't want it to regress," Gerber said. "When the committee meets, we'll vote for the next chairman, and Gale's name could very well be involved." If Gerber was to take on the festival as chairman for a sixth year, no one could blame him. During his five-year tenure as chairman, he has seen attendance jump by leaps and bounds, and that continued this past festival. "The crowds were up," he

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said. "I think that may have been because of the amount of advertising and word of mouth. People are eager to come into a small community, with small town values." The small town values may have drawn some in, but the Laser Light Spectacular kept their attention. After the success of the laser lights in 2004, the exhibit was brought back in 2005, held in the Nappanee Public Library's parking lot. The show was held on Friday and Saturday night, with approximately 4,000 people turning out on Saturday. "People were bulging out onto Walnut Street," Gerber said about the street located just north of the parking lot. Saturday was the busiest day of the festival, with droves of visitors coming to Nappanee to

see the parade at 11 a.m. "It was the nicest and biggest parade we've ever had," the chairman said. "We had a lot of compliments on it." Following the parade, visitors may have headed east, to the Nappanee Municipal Airport, where Wings and Wheels was taking place. "Wings and Wheels was a success, as were the tractor pulls," Gerber said. "We had a lot of people out at those." While things were happening outside of the downtown area, the bulk of the festival was located right dab in the middle of town. "We had a lot of compliments on the entertainment," Gerber said. "Granpa Cratchet was a huge success, and so was Mike Hemmelgam. They're both national acts, and people really

enjoyed them." People also seemed to

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enjoy the music of Spike and Bulldogs, who played at 10 p.m. on Saturday night. "It was the first time we had to set up extra seats," Gerber said about the crowd that Spike attracted. "I can say we had dose to 1,000 people here to see Spike and the Bulldogs. They have a following, with them probably being the best 50's and 60's band in the Midwest." While the forecasters had promised a" beautiful weekend, the cold weather on Friday threatened to put a damper on the whole festival. "We still had a halfway decent crowd on Friday," Gerber said. After Friday, the skies cleared, and the sun granted the festival a positive atmosphere, with the carnival rides bringing in more money than ever. "The gross sales were up for them, and they promised to bring even more rides next

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year," Gerber said about Burton Brothers Amusement. And speaking of 2006, that's what the Apple Festival Committee is already gearing toward. "We'll have another meeting in a couple of weeks to close things out, then in November we'll start talking about next year," Gerber said. With all the time it takes to plan for a festival of its size, one would wonder why Gerber would even consider doing it for a sixth year, but after the 2005 festival, Gerber may know. It's not all about the chairman. "It's the self-satisfaction," he said. "We're doing this to show our community, and show what Nappanee's all about. The generosity of the sponsors and the city is what makes it go. It takes a huge team."

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