Life is all about adjusting, and adapting. And I am working on adjusting and adapting to this early date for the Cherry Festival. It took me a while to realize that with Easter so late this year – about as late as it can be – the Chamber had to find an alternative date. So this year we have an opportunity to enjoy all the festivities, just a little earlier.
But the great unknown is always the weather. It can be iffy whenever the Cherry Festival is held, so let’s hope for blue skies, comfortable temperature and no wind (it’s tough when the wind is blowing so hard you have to spread yourself across the display table trying to keep the brochures from flying away like kites at the beach). But no matter when – there will be plenty of ways to get into that “Cherry Groove” – from Friday night’s “It’s the Pits” Lip Sync contest to Saturday night’s “Cherry Stomp” at the Civic featuring the Hit Machine. And thanks to Bob Wagenblast, I already have my ticket for the Shriners’ Oyster Feed at St. Mary’s Parish Center on Friday night.
Like most of the town, the Center we will be bustling with activity starting off Saturday morning from 7:30 – 10:00 with the Cherry Festival Breakfast sponsored by the Center’s neighbor – Cherry Heights Retirement Community. The menu includes country-fine fried potatoes, eggs of your choice, biscuits, bacon, and fruit as well as the regular beverages. The cost is $6.50 for the general public, $5.50 for members and $3.50 for children under twelve – and that doesn’t mean maturity level.
And there is more. For all the politicos who have time to break away from the downtown activities, Senator Jeff Merkley will be at the Center at 2:00 for a Town-hall meeting to hear your concerns and answer your questions. And later in the evening if you would rather play bingo instead of dancing to the “Hit Machine”, Saturday Night Bingo starts at 6:00 with the doors opening by 5:00. So come down and have some fun, support the Center and maybe take home a few bucks.
For the 11:00 am Tuesday Lecture Series, the Center has scheduled two enthralling, mesmerizing, galvanizing and just outright interesting lectures – one exploring the past and the other looking towards the future. On April 12th, Jerry Tanquist will discuss “Train Wrecks and Other Rail Mishaps in Wasco County” with photos and fascinating stories. And then on Tuesday the 19th, Dan Durow, Community Development Director for the City of The Dalles, will be discussing future plans for The Dalles particularly focusing on the downtown area. It is easy to forget the many changes that have occurred in The Dalles over the last decade and it will be exciting to hear the possibilities for the next decade.
Tonight at the Center the Strawberry Mountain Band will be kicking it up – so you can get down – for a evening of dancing. And next Tuesday on the 12th, Martin and Friends will be playing for your listening and dancing pleasure. The music starts at 7:00 and everyone is invited. And while the music is free, donations are always appreciated.
Many folks remembered Ronald Reagan as the host of Death Valley Days during the ‘64 and ‘65 seasons including Talie Kingsbury whose name was drawn for a free Cherry Festival breakfast. But to generate this week’s “Remember When” question I had to go back to my mom’s advice. In high school, I was the strong, silent type minus the strong – especially when any girl was within shouting distance. And when I needed help thinking of something to say that would impress my date, my mom suggested the acronym HELP: Hobbies, Entertainment, Literature, and Politics. Well, you can tell right there, I wasn’t the most exciting fish in the frying pan. But her advice has finally helped – even if it is some fifty years later. So for the letter “L” as in literature, what was the name for those yellow and black covered student study guides that were not recommended but were commonly used in high school and college? (In several classes that was as close as I got to literature!) E-mail your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, call 541-296-4788 or write it on the back of that long lost essay explaining the obtuse relationship between Captain Ahab and Moby Dick.
Well, it’s been another week tugging at the house curtain – waiting for the show to begin. Until we meet again – for each and every day take time to put a cherry on top. It’s the groovy thing to do!
“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, ‘This is going to take more than one night.’” Charlie Brown
