Carthage Acoustic Festival 2002.

Main Street Carthage will sponsor the Carthage Acoustic Music Festival on Saturday June 8. The event will take place on the Carthage Square and feature live musical performances from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. The event is made possible through funding assistance of the Helan S. Boylan Foundation and other considerations by the City of Carthage, the Jasper County Commission and the Mornin’ Mail.

Nine regional groups from Carthage, Stockton, Monett, Neosho, Diamond, and Columbus, Kansas are scheduled to perform beginning at 1:30 p.m. A variety of music styles will be showcased and will include bluegrass, country, folk, and gospel.

An open stage from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. will offer local and area musicians an opportunity to perform. No taped accompaniment or electrified instruments will be allowed. Those wishing to perform can sign up beginning at 9 a.m. on Festival day. Individuals will be allowed ten minutes on stage, groups can perform up to twenty minutes.

Vendors are not being authorized so those in attendance can take advantage of local restaurants and shops on the Square.

With youth baseball and softball officially beginnin’, summer can’t be far off. Looks like the girls softball fields at the Fair Acres Sports Complex will actually come into play this year.

When both sets a fields are in use at night, the sky in the south part a town will be a beacon for the community. With the number of participants, most of the community will likely be at the park several nights a week. I’m guessin’ that one outa four or five school age kids are involved in the youth sports programs. Figurin’ in the volunteer adults you bring together a good portion of the population. Just havin’ fun, learnin’ a little team work, and even seein’ a little politics bein’ played out from time to time.

Lessons that last a lifetime.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing Services

PRIME TIME WITH KIDS

If Mom has always wanted to go to an exotic, far away place, capitalize on your kids’ imagination and assist them in treating Mom to a dream vacation right at home.

Whatever the destination, start with a special send-off.

Make a "passport" for Mom with her photo inside. Next, create a skit in which every family member role-plays being pilots or flight attendants on the trip. Serve Mom sparkling juice in First Class, of course.

Here are some themed locations:

Trip to the Caribbean - In a sunny room in your home, set out a beach chair for Mom with towels, sandals and suntan lotion. Blow up colorful beach balls and hang them from the ceiling. Scatter shells on the floor. Serve her a salad in a seashell and play tapes of waves crashing, steel drums or Beach Boy tunes. Fan her, polish her toenails and serve her fruit slushes for a snack. For a present, give her sunglasses, a beach towel, a novel or a canvas tote.

Trip to Paris - Set the scene with a mural of the Eiffel tower. Draw it on butcher paper and hang it on the wall. Hunt through the dress-up box to create a "couture collection" for a fashion show for Mom. Or, dress up and do a mini can-can set to music on tape.

Another child might dress as a French waiter, complete with beret and let Mom order cafe au lait, croissants, French cheese, an omelette or crepes from a giant menu the kids have made. For a present, give her a scarf, perfume, or promise to take Mom to an art museum and look for paintings by French artists.

Trip to W. Africa - Rent a safari video or "The African Queen." Snack on peanuts in a shell and tropical fruit on skewers. For a present, give a T-shirt, stationery, or a book to support efforts to protect endangered species. Or, visit the zoo and look for African animals. You may be able to donate to a zoo project in Mom’s name.