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: It seems that every year Chingawassa Days provides a great concert on Saturday night. This year I hear that we are having Grand Funk Railroad. Is this the official end to the weekend's celebration?
Pete's answer: That's a great question. I know a lot of people attend the concert on Saturday night, and I'll bet most of them think the concert wraps up the activities. There is actually one more event that takes place to complete Chingawassa Days.
This event always has been well attended, and we call it the Community Worship Service. I talked to the ministers in town as they are responsible of putting this service together, and I want to share some of their insight.
Larry King, the president of the ministerial alliance, told me that this tradition has been part of Chingawassa Days as long as he can remember. It originally started by choosing one of the ministers to speak on that Sunday morning, but it has progressed over the past few years. Now the alliance tries to bring in some top-notch outside talent so that Sunday is a special time for the community.
This year is no exception as they are bringing Earnest Alexander to the new high school auditorium for their Sunday service. Earnest is from Wichita and he has sung in this area many times. He is very well-known throughout Marion County, and sponsors a mentoring program for young people in Wichita. All the ministers are excited that Earnest is coming for Chingawassa Days.
The service starts at 10:30 Sunday morning and everyone is invited to attend. The concert will be quite uplifting as Earnest not only has a beautiful voice, but also has a beautiful spirit. I think the whole community will be blessed if they attend.
Chingawassa Days ends about noon Sunday in the performing arts center.
