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Chinga Talk

Marion enjoyed its 11th Chingawassa Days in June 2007. This annual festival has become one of the highlights of the year, and a great selling point for those promoting the quality of life in our town. Even though everyone has some idea what the festival offers, you can't really know what goes into staging the event unless you have been on the Chinga committee. To answer questions and clear up areas of confusion, Pete the Chingawassa Rhino has agreed to respond to a number of questions. The issues and Pete's responses will be presented in a series of columns the next few weeks.

Dear Pete: Why aren't there more activities for young children? Why aren't there more activities for teen-agers? Why aren't there more activities for adults? Why aren't there more activities for seniors?

Pete's answer: Pete has to admit that these are all good questions. No matter what your age, there probably aren't enough events and activities to keep you totally busy throughout the whole festival. The Chingawassa committee makes a concerted effort to provide activities and events to appeal to a wide variety of tastes, interests, and ages. You never know what 20-year-old might like polka music, or 70-year-old might enjoy Three Dog Night.

From the beginning, the Chingawassa Days Festival committee has attempted to have activities that appeal to a broad audience. The hope is that everyone can find at least one or two things that they will enjoy participating in, or observing, that will make the Chinga weekend a fun one and different from every other weekend of the year.

Once in a while, the committee may get lucky and keep someone entertained from start to finish. Usually, people will find enough things of interest to keep them going throughout the weekend. The festival does try to make sure there are adult activities and activities for young people.

We have had years where we had events lined up and had them cancel at the last minute, leaving us without a planned activity for young children, teen-agers, etc. It is tough to find things that appeal to three-year-olds and 15-year-olds.

The committee has probably struggled the most with finding things to appeal to those in their late teens and early 20s. It's not because the committee doesn't want to provide entertainment for them, it's just tough to figure out what to offer.

The committee has and will continue to try to provide a wide variety of activities and hope that if you keep an open mind and positive attitude, you will find plenty to do and observe through the course of the weekend. Heck, if in doubt, you could always visit the food vendors, find something unique to eat, and sit in the shade of the beautiful park and watch people having fun.

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