Dover Canal Festival provides grand opening for summer during Memorial Day weekend
Ah, Memorial Day weekend! The heralding of summer, of cookouts, days at the beach, picnics at the park, sunny days and balmy evenings. For the past 29 years, a perfect Memorial Day weekend for many has included attending Canal Dover Days in picturesque downtown Dover.
Jeff Border, a member of the Dover Exchange Club, which hosts the event, has spent the last 25 years as volunteer festival chairman. He has been busy with preparations for this years’s big event since the 2009 festival drew to a close. “One of the biggest changes is that it has probably gotten 10 times larger in size. We are getting really close to running out of room. But it’s kind of neat to have everybody there in one spot,” said Border. “This year, the midway booths and rides open up on Friday, May 28, around noon to one o’clock, but the official kickoff is at 5:30 with Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen, followed by the presentation of our king and queen.”
Border added that the annual plate auction, which takes place at 6:30 p.m. Friday, is an integral part of the success of the festival. “We raised about $6,000 last year from the plate auction, which is pretty typical, although that can fluctuate with the economy and the plate theme.” The overall theme of this year’s Canal Days plate is Celebrating Dover’s 100 Years of Public Power.
“We have a great theme this year, which I think will work out very well. It is the 100th anniversary of Dover Light and Power, which is pretty remarkable. The artist is Mark VanSickle, and the plate portrays all kinds of historical photos of the old equipment and vehicles, from beginning to present. The photos are in black and white, and the background is blue. The plate also has the new logo for Dover Light and Power, designed by our mayor,” Border added.
A highlight of the festival is the parade, which kicks off at noon on Saturday, May 29. “We have a fairly large parade, with about 70 entries. Larry Lindberg and Rocky Clark do the parade for us, and Roy Crawford is our Exchange Club president,” Border commented. “Right now everything is busy and coming together. The weekend itself is a blast. We have like 45 people downtown on Thursday night helping to set up everything. The guys enjoy it. We have wives helping, and everyone pitches in.”
Border credits the efforts of many in making Canal Dover Days a success. “The mayor and city council have been great. Without the cooperation that we get from the city, we would never have even been able to pull this off.” One of those who has been instrumental in the festival is Rodney Spangler, whose absence will be keenly felt by his fellow Exchange Club members.
“The one thing this year is that we had a big loss. Rodney Spangler, who was here from the beginning, passed away in April. He and I did the street layout together for the last 28 years. We are really going to miss him,” stated Border. “We are hopeful that his wife, Flo, will continue to work alongside us, but this is a big loss to all of us in the community. No one else was more dedicated or spent more time. Rodney will be impossible to replace.
“We also have a few positive changes,” he continued. “There will be some new rides, with some better kiddie rides. The food selection is incredible, as there are always new kinds of foods coming in. We’re looking forward to a great year, and we invite everyone to join with us at the 2010 Canal Dover Festival.”
Information, including parade and cornhole tournament sign-up entries, can be found online at http://www.dover exchangeclub.com.
Schedule of events:
Friday May 28, Main Stage noon: Midway opens; 5:30 p.m., Festival opens; 6 p.m., junior king and queen contest; 6:30 p.m., plate auction; 8-11, Clean Slate. Walnut St. stage: 4-7 p.m., Double Deuce; 8-11 p.m., Moonlighters.
Saturday May 29, Main Stage: 9 a.m., Canal Dover 5K Run, held at the Dover Park; noon, parade - route includes 4th St. from Walnut to Wooster Ave., between 4th St. and 2nd St., 2nd St. to Tuscarawas Ave back to 4th St.; 1 p.m., Dover High Marching Tornadoes; 2 p.m., Backstage Dance Studio; 3:30 p.m., Tuscarawas Dance Studio; 6:30 p.m., Dominic Greco Band; 8:15-11:15 p.m., Retrovox. Walnut St. Stage: 1 p.m., registration for corn hole tournament; 3p.m., corn hole tournament; 4-7 p.m., The Sufferin’ Moses Blues Band; 8-11 p.m., Them Dudes
Sunday May 30, Main Stage: 10:30 a.m., Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church service; 12:30 p.m., Big Wheel race sign-up starts; 1 p.m., Big Wheel race; 3-6 p.m., Silver Eclipse; 7-10 p.m., Half Fast. Walnut St. Stage: 4-7 p.m., Daniels & Rinehart; 8-11 p.m., New Wave Nation.
