GET READY FOR ROCK 'N' ROLLby ASHLEY ODENStaff writer For the Sequim Irrigation Festival ?fabulous four,? also known as the royal court, the annual kickoff dinner is a time to strut their stuff. The dinner and auction evening is the first of many opportunities for the public to meet Sequim?s newest royalty: queen Janaye Birkland and princesses Amanda Cerutti, Rebekah Harasick and Carolina Garcia. During the next nine months, the girls will travel to more than 17 parades, festivals and community events. The parade schedule starts with the Tacoma Daffodil Festival in April and ends with the Shelton Christmas Parade in December, weather permitting. But the kickoff dinner is also a chance to meet the chosen festival dignitaries ? grand marshal, grand pioneers and honorary pioneers ? for the first time and to purchase this year?s lapel pin and other ?limited edition? merchandise. The dinner and festival theme: ?112 Years and Still Rockin?.? According to Amanda Bacon, kickoff dinner chairperson, the dinner and auction event raised $10,000 dollars last year. This year, organizers are shooting to top that with $12,000. The kickoff dinner is not all about spending money though, Bacon stressed. Supporting the royalty girls? is equally as important. ?Just being there and supporting the girls? is enough,? she said. ?You don?t have to bid hundreds and hundreds of dollars on anything.? For those who do want to contribute monetarily, even $5 or $10 helps, she said. Royalty runs in Bacon?s blood. Her mother was an Irrigation Festival queen in 1973 and her aunts were royalty in the ?50s. Bacon was crowned queen herself in 1997, a decade ago this year. ?I love the Irrigation Festival. It?s part of our family heritage,? she said. ?And it?s so neat to see those girls up on stage with the community only 20 feet in front of them bidding on items and supporting them.? The dinner menu will follow a ?50s theme, serving hamburgers, veggie burgers, potato salad, green salad and more. Not to mention sundaes for dessert, Bacon added. Jazz in Blume, with lead singer Tracy Blume, will perform throughout the night, with lots of opportunities for people to get up and dance. The royal court will make their ?traveling song? debut performance too, the first of probably at least 300 renditions, Bacon said. ?I?ve heard it?s a good one this year!? she added. Tee shirts and sweatshirts with the festival logo will be sold for the first time, as well as a select amount of baseball caps, hoodies and other ?stylish? garments, Bacon said. ?Some of these nontraditional items might only be available at the kickoff dinner,? she warned. ?So get them while the getting is good.? All proceeds from the dinner and auction event benefit the Sequim Irrigation Festival royalty, helping pay for their travel, food and lodging expenses at parades, as well as the scholarships they receive when it?s all said and done. For more information, go online to the festival Web site, www.irrigationfestival.com. Sequim Irrigation Festival float parade schedule 2007
112 Years and Still Rockin?
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