Celebrating Westport in Central Village: Come Out and Play
Shorelines
Paul A.Tamburello, Jr.
A Big Top is coming to Westport on Saturday, July 8, and the whole town is invited to “Come out and Play” there, rain or shine. There won’t be a three-ring circus underneath the canvas set up behind the Town Hall Annex on Main Road but there will be enough fun, games, singing, and dancing between 5 pm and 9 pm for the whole family to enjoy. Tickets are $5.00. Children 14 and under enter free but must be accompanied by an adult.
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Like the other eleven events in the Westport Arts Council’s ambitious 2006 “Celebrate Westport in Central Village” series, “Come out and Play” is intended to mix good old-fashioned fun with events that highlight Westport’s culture and diversity.
A Silent Auction between 5:00 and 7:30 pm, replete with everything from “bargains to treasures” will be the most sedentary part of the evening. One part of the silent auction is the traditional sign-up variety. Auction veterans know the excitement peaks a few minutes before bid time runs out. Luck plays a far larger part in the other auction. Participants simply buy tickets, raffle style, and plunk them into the buckets representing the item they’re keen on winning. Carol Vidal and Betty Fitton head the auction committee and had assistance from Selena Howard and Ruth Bournes with soliciting auction items.
Children and the young at heart get out of the starting blocks when the shindig begins at 5 pm with face painting, sack races, arts and crafts (tie-dye, for example), and games of four square, tic-tac-toss, outdoor checkers, and beyond hopscotch. “Chair massages” for kids will be provided by Linda Richter. Children’s activities coordinator Betty Slade, with assistance from Norma Sears and Dick Magovern, has a slew of experienced help from Rhonda Plourde (music), Toby Dills (tie-dye, either bring your own shirt or buy one), Melissa Danforth (face painting), and several other volunteers who will handle prizes and manage the games in progress.
Food, chairs, and blankets for a picnic supper are on a “bring your own” basis but food coordinators Selena Howard and Liz Collins say that food concessions will be open for those whose idea of a night out doesn’t include cooking food.
At 6:30 pm, celebrants can catch their breath while listening to nationally acclaimed performer Bill Harley, who in the past 20 years of singing, writing, and story telling, has managed to figure out exactly what entertains kids from age from Pre Kindergarten to Grade 6. Kids love his down to earth slightly goofy sense of humor. Teachers and parents enjoy the good-natured truisms that are embedded in his work. It’s not often these days that parents and kids can sit together and laugh at the same stories but Mr. Harley has found the common ground and mines it with relish.
After twenty-five recordings of songs and stories and five children’s books to his credit, you can believe that Harley provides lots of chuckles sandwiched between pearls of wisdom in his performance. Plenty of people would agree. He’s been nominated for two Grammies and has earned accolades from Parent’s Choice, The American Library Association, and other national organizations. The Westport River Watershed Alliance arranged Harley’s participation. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, Harley claims the reason for his success - “I never grew up!”
The evening hits its stride at 8 pm with a chance for adults to polish their dance skills to the music of the Magnolia Cajun Band. Although Cajun music has its roots in the southwest bayous between Louisiana and Texas, this band has a local brand of “south coast” flavor. Three of the seven performers, Christine Ash and Richie and Maggie Moniz (who grew up in a French speaking household), live right here in Westport.
Many French Canadians immigrated to the United States in the 1800s and found work in the mills in southeast Massachusetts. Others made their way down south where they maintained their French culture and created a hybrid language known today as Cajun. The Magnolia Cajun Band may be singing in French, but the band's twin fiddles, accordion, guitar, bass, percussion and vocals will provide a universal language. No translations are necessary to waltz and two-step around the dance floor to their music.
Advance tickets are sold at Partners, Country Woolens, and Village Bicycle. To make reservations, call 508-636-2205.
Just as children are called home when darkness falls, the “Come out and Play” evening ends at 9 pm. By that time, if the co-chairs Barbara Bates, Liz Collins, and Selena Howard wish comes true, everyone who attends will be ready for a good night’s sleep.
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