TAHLEQUAH —
Several thousand people showed up last weekend to immerse themselves in the Red Fern Festival, prompting organizers to deem the three-day event a success.
Those who laid the groundwork and provided most of the elbow grease – Kate Kelly and David Moore of the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce, Drew Haley of Tahlequah Mainstreet, and dozens of other volunteers – have every right to be proud. With a little help from Mother Nature in the form of good weather, they managed to pull it off pretty much without a hitch.
In the few short years of its existence, the Red Fern Festival has become one of Cherokee County’s pillar events, surpassed in magnitude only by the Cherokee National Holiday. While the Holiday has long stood as the capstone for fall activities, Red Fern has in six years assumed a similar position for the spring calendar.
Attendees – especially those at the movie Friday night in Norris Park – commented on how good it was to run into friends they hadn’t seen in a while. Others particularly enjoyed all the good food, and sharing it with their friends. Several people have indicated they reconnected with folks from their past at Red Fern – and didn’t even need Facebook to do the work for them! It was all up-close and personal, just like it used to be in communities like Tahlequah.
Parents reported Red Fern provided the perfect family venue, from the ever-popular crawdad hole, to the sack races, to the rubber ducky race, and even to the hound dog field trials, which many adults consider a serious affair.
Simply put, Red Fern brought folks together. In Tahlequah especially, parades do that, too, but not nearly to the extent Red Fern does, and not for the length of time. And parades, while they provide a few hours of respite and entertainment, aren’t really conducive to conversations about how you’ve been, what the kids are doing, and what ya’ll are planning for the next month or so. You can watch them with others, but you can’t interact and participate like you can at a three-day event in a park downtown.
A few folks so enthusiastically embraced the festival this year, they even called or wrote the Press with suggestions on some events that might be added to future Red Ferns. Of course, we pointed them in the direction of the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce, at (918) 456-3742. David, Kate, Drew and the crew down there are always looking for ideas, and we’re sure they’re already hard at work on Red Fern 2013.
Congratulations to them, and to the host of others who had a role in making Red Fern such a rousing success.
Editorials
Kudos for another Red Fern success
- Editorials
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Welcoming our visitors to town
In just a few days, visitors will be pouring into Cherokee County, as the Memorial Day weekend officially ushers in the local tourist season. For some of us, that means it’s time to batten down the hatches; for others, it’s time for the cash registers to start ringing.
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Phone record debacle an insult to press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
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Punishing the animal dumpers
Animal dumping is not a problem unique to Cherokee County, but anyone who’s been keeping up with current events for the past decade or so will acknowledge it’s especially prevalent here.
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Openness on AG the right course
It takes courage to admit to a serious mistake or a personal lapse, especially when the nature of the situation may call for a public mea culpa.
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Legislative action not encouraging
It’s outrageous to advance the argument that it’s “fair” for Chesapeake Oil to wind up with a negative tax bill – lower than the average Oklahoman paid last year. Yet that’s precisely the message some of that company’s protectors in the state Legislature are trying to convey.
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Cast your ballot for ‘At Its Best’
May has arrived, and that means folks will be relishing their upcoming trips over the Memorial Day weekend to Lake Tenkiller and the Illinois River. Before that, families with 12th-graders in their households will be making plans to watch their children make the monumental transition that graduation brings.
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Corporations shouldn’t have ‘people’ status
Since the Supreme Court made its fateful 2010 decision in the Citizens United case, most Americans have come to agree with the cynical statement that “corporations aren’t people.” And most Americans – except that tiny fraction who wield all the power – would approve of a constitutional amendment to make it tougher to buy a congressman.
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Anti-texting bill still needs look
A bill that would have banned texting while driving was shot down for the third and presumably final time this legislative session, and we can’t say we’re surprised.
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Red Fern a great family fun event
By the time many of you read this, you’ll already be just hours away from milling around, or kicking back in your lawn chairs, at Norris Park. Some of you might already be downtown before your paper arrives.
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Progress set to print Sunday
Sporadic readers will want to pick up a copy of the Sunday, April 21 Daily Press. It will contain the first “wave” of our annual Progress edition.
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