COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL July 20, 2016
Contest Corner
9A
Feud winners, 2016
Grovers go all-out for victory
Twenty Miles by
Wheelbarrow
Two Towns
Tug-O-War
Fuse Winder
Cherry Pit
Spitting,
Accuracy
Jennalyn Kruger
Paul Kruger
First: Shawna Bratton
Second: Kris Worley
Thread the
Needle
Chance Ralston
Creed Lufkin
Candlestick Run
First: Niko Susec
Second: Chance Ralston
Diggin the Dark
Jennalyn Kruger
Bryden Huffman
photo by Jon Stinnett
Costume contest
Slabtown (at right) eventually prevailed over Lemati in a close contest
to win the Two Towns Tug O' War.
At right: Noe
Valley spits a
cherry pit for
accuracy.
Men: Steve Coady
Women: Helen Banneck
Child: Niko Susec
Beard, Stately
Slabtown
Men: Will Davey
Women: Noe Valley
Child: Bene Susec
Cherry Pit
Spitting,
Distance
Men: Scott Boxberger, 42 ft.
Women: Jessica Downey,
27 ft.
Child: Chance Ralston, 26 ft.
Historical
Treasure Hunt
Friday $100 winner: Anne-
Marie Hallwyler
Saturday: Jordan Kraker
Sunday: Shawna Bratton
$200 bonus winner: Levi
Wood
Steve Dick
Beard, Untamed
Ian Carter
photos by Sam Wright
BMD's Jake Boone with costume
contest winners, from top, Helen
Banneck, Niko Susec and Steve
Coady.
Shawna Bratton used a
refi ned technique to become
the top Fuse Winder.
Mayors and such
photo by Greg Lee
Cottage Grove on parade
Grand
Miners
Parade
winners
Grand Miner's
Award
Friends of the
Cottage Grove
Public Library
Bohemia
Ambassador
Award
CG Prospectors
and Golddiggers
Mayor's Award
Shampoo Dolls
Salon
photo by Bruce Kelsh
Friends of the Library parade members Samantha Duncan, Amber Sherman, Jace Mey-
er, and Mary McNamara led two electric cars and took home the Grand Miners Award.
Judges award
Lauraine's ATA
Martial Arts
Festival Award
Cottage Grove
Rodeo
Spirit Award
One More Time
Marching Band
The Prospectors and Golddiggers took
home the Ambassador Award.
Madeleine Sisson goes royal as the Red
Queen in the Storybook Theater fl oat.
photo by Matt Emrich
The Rosie the Riveters had a ball at BMD.
Competition was fi erce in the
Gold Dash 500-meter kids' run.
Ben Price brought smiles
with his tiny bike.
(Winners of the Bohemia
Deputies contests)
Slabtown Mayor: Niko Fusec
Lemati Mayor: Chance Ralston
Slabtown Sheriff: Kira Shively
Lemati Sheriff: No participants
Kids deliver at
CT melodrama
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
o accompany the Bohe-
mia Mining Days cel-
ebrations this weekend, the Cot-
tage Theatre hosted an original
melodrama written by Keith
Kessler called “As the Butter
Churns…Or All that Glitters is
not Gold.” It was another pre-
sentation of colorful fun and big
laughs, but the play separates
itself in that the entire cast was
under the age of 15.
Executive Director of the
Theatre, Susan Goes, organized
a group of over 30 kids between
the ages of nine and 14 in a per-
formance that acts as a compli-
ment to the BMD festivities.
The play is set in the late 19th
Century, when electricity had
just swept the nation. The small
Oregon town of Leaven-Worth
has been taken hostage by the
Butterworth mafi a, led by but-
ter Tycoon Big Paddy Butter-
worth (Cormac Mayhue) and
his butter bandits. Big Paddy
has schemed the town into his
pocket, and everyone is in debt
to him. His fi nal plot is to steal
all of the money raised at the
“Stairway to Leaven” festival,
forcing foreclosure on homes
and businesses and achieving
“total town domination.”
The heroine of the tale is the
town librarian and family mem-
ber of the city founders, Ms.
Brulee Brioche (Kenady Con-
forth). Ms. Brioche is pressured
into marrying the villain to
avoid foreclosure on her library.
The actors and actresses were
wonderfully cast, as Conforth
perfected the innocent “sweet
girl” look, melting the hearts
of the audience. And Mayhue’s
butter-blonde head and pomp-
ous persona evoked plenty of
“boos” and hisses, though he
was able to get some laughs ev-
ery once in a while, too.
By the fi rst introduction of
each character (or even by just
looking at the program) it’s easy
to tell that Kessler went wild
with puns. Bread and butter
puns were so ubiquitous that it
went past the point of ridiculous
and back to cheeky and funny.
But perhaps the biggest as-
sistants to the comic relief were
never center stage. The “Town
Curmedgeons,” Loe and Bea
Holde (Campbell Conforth and
Kira Carver), were two senile
old women who made witty and
cynical commentary as the plot
moved along and taking the pun
game a step further when it got
overwhelming on center stage.
The melodies were playfully
directed and choreographed by
Janet Rust, and the songs took
buttery spin-offs of hits like
“Surfi n’ USA” (Churnin’ USA).
In this appropriately themed
melodrama, it was impressive to
see such a large group of young
people achieve coordination and
fl air in their singing, dancing
and acting. It was an encourag-
ing display of youth acting.
BMD
Continued from page 1A
photo by Jon Stinnett
The Bloomers Parade returned to celebrate Women's
Suffrage on Thursday.
photo by Jon Stinnett
Little Lion Cheer Camp brought spirit to Friday's Kiddie
Parade.
As has been customary in re-
cent years, the 2016 Two Towns
Feud brought the historically
“combative” towns of Lemati
and Slabtown, two relics of Cot-
tage Grove’s early history, back
to duel it out in a series of games.
This year, it would be Slabtown
(basically the area west of the
Coast Fork of the Willamette
River) prevailing 118-117 in the
closest Feud in years.
On Saturday, appreciative
crowds lined Main Street for a
packed Grand Miners Parade.
Weeldreyer, who took the
BMD helm after years of serv-
ing as a volunteer, called serv-
ing as festival coordinator “a
blast,” though she was quick to
highlight the work of others in
making the event happen, even
singling out festival board mem-
bers Joel Reiten, Cathy Sim-
mons, Jerry Vaverka and Jimmy
Schapper for their efforts.
“The festival would not exist
without the efforts of so many,”
she said. “I’m thankful for ev-
eryone, especially those who
took on a double shift when we
were short-handed.”