THE GREAT MAIFEST MYSTERY IS FINALLY REVEALED HERE! PLUS --- EXTRA-ADDED BONUS ... SONNY VENTS HIS EDITORIAL IN FRONT OF GOD AND EVERYONE! Last week, we asked the question, Do you Banana Heads know what used to be in evidence at The Maifest but has not been so for several years? This question applied to both the two-day Maifest Parades ... and the two-night Maifest Coronations ... WHAT was it that was once a vital part of the parades and coronations that simply vanished over the years? Think about it. Did you come up with the correct answer? THE ANSWER TO THE ABOVE QUESTION IS ... The Gulf Oil Company sound trucks! Gulf Oil Company sound trucks, Uncle Sonny? Thats right, boys and girls. There used to be at least one, sometimes more, of the Gulf Oil sound trucks positioned usually at the corner of West Main and Austin Streets area to broadcast the float information for parade watchers way down at that end to know what was going on. At times, they also placed another unit elsewhere in the scheme of things, usually along Alamo Street. They appeared at times, as well, at the coronation grounds to serve as the public address system for the night. We are not sure if this was a Gulf corporate-sponsored participation at Maifest or if one or more of the area Gulf Service Station dealers paid to bring in the trucks as their donation to the community. Either way, they were a welcomed part of the Maifest. Its a shame that this tradition was abandoned as it lent an air of excitement and festivity to the event. Perhaps the Maifest organization will consider re-instating such in the future. When I was Big Tex at The State of Texas, there was a grand hour long, multi-floats and specialty entries parade that wound through Fair Park nightly. Lots of sound and fury. Plenty of float riders. Much excitement. In lieu of marching bands (which the Maifest also got rid of) the Fair has synchronized public address speakers (using a sort of WiFi technology that broadcasts to each float) whereby they are able to maintain a constant flow of music supporting the parade for everyone to hear and enjoy. Each float passes and before it has passed, the next float picks up with the sound. It is an even flowing, seamless event. Brenham should consider same if they insist on not bothering to have a band in between the floats as they used to have. But ... well ... music coming from every float ... why ... its innovative, so we may NEVER see this implemented in Small Town! (Lets just stay in our rut and after a few years we can then use that old saying of which Small Town is so fond, Well ... weve ALWAYS done it this way!) ... Excuse me and Leroy the Wonder Horse as we go out behind the Old Barn and throw up! The quickest way for even an old tradition to die off is to stop replenishing it with something new ... something brought back from the past ... and something innovative ... as well as promoting the hell out of it throughout the State, especially within a 100-mile radius of Small Town in every publication ... radio station ... and TV station that can be arm-twisted into running with the story. You dont get free publicity merely by sending out flyers. Youve got to call folk and make a case for WHY the event should be featured. Believe me, I know. I ran a major Houston shopping mall and KNOW the value of constant and appropriate marketing to get the people to come. Contrary to the movie, Field of Dreams, tourists wont just show up because you built it and expect them to come flocking. You have to shout it out loud ... LONG ... and ... HARD! ... Youve got to have someone (JUST ONE PERSON IN AUTHORITY!) who is in charge to take the ball and run with it ... Consultants and committees are for the birds ... Consultants and committees got together to build the horse and gave us the camel! ... Maifest needs a re-birth ... Otherwise ... in my opinion ... Maifest will be as dead as a 3-day old fish out of water laying on the shore of Lake Somerville .... If you think this article stinks, then youve got a pretty good idea of whats in store for Small Town if some so-called folk running things dont get off their butts and begin making like they care for the future of the community. Oh, my gosh ... I think Im starting to sound like The Spectator of old ... Well, I learned from the best editorializers in Washington County --- Tom S. Whitehead Sr. and Jr. when I worked at KWHI Radio. I also learned a great deal from The Brenham Banner-Press editor, Ben Blanton, who sort of took me under his wing to point out a few things. I learned that the secret to getting things done is just to tell folk whats wrong and offer solutions. If they cant see the truth and/or refuse to do anything about it --- then --- well ... ITS ON THEM! .... So ... for what its worth ... consider this the echoing ghosts of the Whiteheads and Blanton coming back to haunt you through this ol Son of the Washington County Soil to get you to THINK! ... And, Ill be curious to read what fellow Banana Head and other Son of the Soil, Carl Whitmarsh might have to say on this subject ....
Posted on: Wed, 07 May 2014 22:06:03 +0000
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