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     Official Announcements of the Massena, N.Y. 2002 Bicentennial!




Announcing the publication of the first Massena 
Bicentennial Newsletter Online!  Click the banner above to read the latest planning and activities ongoing in preparation of Massena, New York's 200th Birthday Party!

CRAFTERS AND FOOD VENDORS NEEDED FOR MASSENA BICENTENNIAL

     The Massena Bicentennial Family Festival Committee are currently searching for Craft Show and Food Concession participants for one of the largest events of the Bicentennial Celebration  If you have a craft or food concession business and would like to be involved in this “Once In A Lifetime” celebration please let us know of your interest.  July 13th and 14th, 2002 there will be a craft show located at the Massena Central High School open fields and the high school gym.
     Join over 100 crafters to show your fine wares. Crafters are needed to show off their work and make this day an extravaganza.  A nominal fee for 12x12 spaces will cost $50 and 12x24 spaces will cost $100.  Deadlines to reserve your space is this May, this payment is non-refundable.  Around 50 craft tables will be located in the high school gym, electricity in the gym will be given on a first come, first serve basis.  Approximately 150-200 craft tables are expected to be located on the high school open fields, where no electricity will be available.  Please remember this is an open field.  You must provide your own tents, tables, and chairs.
      For the Bicentennial Family Festival, over 10,000 participants are expected. The committee is looking for food vendors to participate in this great event.  The Massena Volunteer Fire Department will have a chicken barbeque and high school students will also have a concession stand; but there is room to add more food concessions.  Two vendors from out of town will have a hot dog and hamburger stands, but we still need more.  This May will also be the deadline for anyone interested in being a food vendor.
     Please contact Anita Shean at 769-7539 or email her at ajshean@breezecomm.net, if you are interested in having a Craft Booth or a Food Concession. You will need to have the following information: Group Business or Individual Name, Contact Person, Address, Phone Number, E-Mail address (if available), and a description of your craft or food stand.  “This should make for a wonderful and long weekend.  Join Massena in celebrating its’ 200th birthday. We encourage everyone to get involved,” said Anita Shean, Craft and Food Vendor Chairperson.
    


           BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE, ALCOA INC. 
          PRESENT “BATTLE OF BANDS” ON JULY 6
     If you enjoy great music, superb choreography, colorful pageantry and showmanship par excellence, mark your calendar for July 6, 2002. That’s the night the Massena Bicentennial Committee and Alcoa Inc. presents the “Massena Bicentennial Battle of the Bands” senior drum and bugle corps show, 7:30pm at Massena High School’s Mike Nicholas Field. This show, sanctioned by Drum Corps Associates, marks the first time, at least in recent memory, that a drum and bugle corps show has been brought to Massena. Tickets are available for only $6.00 in advance at both Kinney Drug stores in Massena, and at the Massena Chamber of Commerce office. Tickets the night of the show will cost $8.00 at the gate.
     Drum corps shows combine the musical quality of a symphony, the motions and choreography of a football halftime show, the excitement of a jazz performance and the pageantry of a parade in one all encompassing sight and sound experience. There’s also a good, healthy dose of competition thrown in, as the corps go head-to-head against each other and are ranked by a panel of judges.
     The Drum Corps show, just one of a number of events taking place during an 11-day bicentennial bash in Massena July 3-14, will feature six of the finest drum corps outfits in the Northeast and Canada. The headline group will be the Empire Statesmen of Rochester, New York. Another excellent Western New York-based corps, the Crusaders will also perform, along with the Kingston (Ont.) Grenadiers, the Connecticut Hurricanes, the Allegheny (PA) NightStorm and the NY-Penn Knights.
     Massena residents will also have a great opportunity to preview the sounds of the 7:30pm show earlier in the day, as each competing corps will be rehearsing their performance at locations around Massena in the morning and afternoon. Practice sites include Leary Junior High School, Madison and Jefferson Elementary schools, Alcoa Field and the varsity soccer field at the High School.
     For more information, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 769-3525 or e-mail at massena@gisco.net.
   

         JULY 13 PARADE PLANS COMING TOGETHER
     The biggest parade in Massena’s history is shaping up nicely, according to Massena Bicentennial Parade Committee Chair Paul Haggett of the Greater Massena Chamber of Commerce. A group of dedicated community representatives have been meeting and planning the grand parade for many months late at night in the conference room of the Chamber offices. Interest in floats, bands, marching contingents of corporate or civic organizations and some specialty attractions has been tremendous.
     Saturday, July 13th at 11AM is when folks from Massena and the region will strut their stuff from the staging area at Madison Elementary School, down the length of Main Street to Harte Haven Shopping Center where it will disband allowing easy access to the Bicentennial Family Festival at the Massena High School campus. Float and band judging will be in front of the Town and Village Offices on Main Street.
     The theme of "Celebrating our Past, Building our Future" will set the tone for the huge parade. Marchers, floats and bands will create five divisions appropriately named in honor of the natural water resources of the Massena area - The St. Lawrence Division, The Grasse Division, The Raquette Division, The Long Sault Division and the Robinson Bay Division. Haggett is quick to add that any organization is welcome to submit applications for floats or marching contingents. "This is a celebration of Massena. We are encouraging the entire community to get involved."
     The Bicentennial Committee found experts and parade veterans alike within our community who came forward to help with the parade committee. Ogdensburg Seaway Festival Parade organizer, Chris Cole, was contracted to oversee the bands and band judging. Chris’ expertise in band contacts, regulations and judging has proved invaluable to the committee. He has been able to secure top quality professional and school bands of all levels to enter the parade lineup. Drum corps, pipe bands and high school bands from Northern New York, Canada and beyond will compete for scored excellence and prizes during the parade. Cole told the committee he is still waiting for a definite commitment, but has keen interest, from a Caribbean Steel Drum band and a couple world-class military bands to come to Massena.
     The response for floats has been incredible as well. Kathleen Kelly of Stellar Marketing Solutions, volunteered her experience of serving nearly 20 years on the committee that coordinated and judged floats for the Annual Syracuse St. Patrick’s Day Parade near her hometown. Kelly has embraced her adopted hometown of Massena, and reported to the committee that the applications have been coming in steadily. Both civic and private organizations have sent in registrations as well as a number of corporate floats which will include great fun and entertainment. A team of local industry and community leaders will score and judge the floats for prizes as they stream down Main Street. Applications for floats can be picked up at the Chamber office or at the Massena Town Clerk’s office.
     Operational logistics and arranging details are being expertly planned with veteran parade organizers Allen "Slim" Vantine, Brad Chapman, Merrill Bell, Andy Harvey and Brent Dougherty who lend years of Massena parades experience to the committee.
     Paul Haggett reminds us that July is right around the corner. He said, "Now is the time to get your entry in to the committee. We want everyone to come out on July 13th! There is still plenty of room - can you just imagine this parade stretching nearly the full length of Main Street and beyond? What a great way to celebrate our Bicentennial."