TEN- Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 2,2005
Ceili
2005 SL Paddy's Day has something fo r everyone
Luck O’ the Irish Casino Night
The leprechaun has been
spotted trying out his card
dealing abilities.
Games galore will
entertain the Irish and the
Irish-for-a-day who feel
lucky on Friday evening,
March 18 Held at the local
Elks Club, the event will
offer card games (Twenty-
one, Texas Hold’em), the
foil o f the dice (4-5-6), and
a wheel o f fortune, all played
w ith specially d esigned
script instead o f money
Players will receive
packets o f script w ith a
funny-m oney v alu e o f
$30,000 for $10 each The
lucky players and the good
players w ho end th eir
evening with script in their
pockets can then ' spend” the
script at the adjoining store
o f donated items Donations
are still coming in from local
merchants and friends o f the
celebration and range from
the inexpensive (i.e candy,
soda pop) to the elaborate
(i.e 32” TVs, overnight-
a n d -g o lf p ackage, ski-
co u n try
e x ten d ed -stay
package) T hese can be
purchased with script or a
combination o f script and
true U S A currency Some
large-ticket items will be
auctioned at the end o f the
evening
Proceeds from the
sale o f script and from the
auction will provide major
funding for next year’s Wee
Bit O ’ Ireland celebration
Paddy Wagon to appear in Great
Green Parade
Casino night event needs donations
The H eppner St P a tric k ’s Day W eekend
Celebration is just around the corner and one o f the events
remains in need o f strong donor support
The Luck O ’ the Irish Casino Night will offer games
o f chance on Friday evening, March 18 This event, which
replaces the long-running auction as the major fundraiser
for next year’s celebration, requires a large store o f items
that participants can purchase with their script after enjoying
the play at the tables.
To begin their evening o f play, participants can
purchase special-script packets valued at 30,000 for $10
each*The script, not currency, is then used at the gaming
tables Participants may also use their script to purchase
items at the adjoining “store.” Organizers o f the Casino
Night expect a high demand for donated items as players
end their evening by spending their remaining script in the
store
M any local m erchants have responded to a
solicitation letter and several have indicated intentions to
donate items. The committee greatly appreciates these
responses, but the need for help is huge and continues
“Donations small and large will be perfect for the evening,”
says co-chair Sharon Harrison Private citizens who wish
to support the effort are also encouraged to provide
donations
“We need items for the lucky players who will have
tons o f script to spend And we need items for the not-so-
lucky players who will have a few script left, maybe enough
to buy a candy bar or a bottle o f soda pop,” says co-chair
Diana Ball. “We would like to have some large-ticket items,
like the two TVs and the two trip packages we have
received so far and we hope to receive many small- and
medium-priced items for the players to buy.”
Donors are invited to take items to the Bank of
Eastern Oregon or to the Wheatland Insurance Office. For
pick-up of donations, Diana Ball, at 676-5306, is the person
to call
KUMA Coffee Hour
The leprechaun was found testing out the Paddy Wagon.
Another descendent o f an Irish original will lead
the ‘Wee Bit O' Ireland” Green Parade this year and
following close behind will be the Paddy Wagon, familiar
since the early days of this celebration The expertise o f a
recent returnee-retiree, Gary Jones, has brought the green
vehicle back to life, with his guarantee that it can easily
complete the parade route
Youngsters who participate in the Parade this year
might think that the Celebration Committee found the
leprechauns' pot of gold They will each receive a $ 1 “gold”
coin All participants have an opportunity to win special
recognition, as judges will be looking for the best entry in
each category: Irish floats and groups; Irish bicycle/golf
cart; antique vehicles and custom vehicles; Irish character
and family; musical and dance groups; parade special
vehicles; and miscellaneous.
The parade begins at 1 p m , so entrants need to be
signed in at Green Feed at the north end o f Heppner by
noon Entry forms and additional information may be
requested by calling 676-9961 or 676-5536.
O’Ducky Race
A
*
»
Being ever helpful, the
leprechaun works at training
a rubber ducky.
Rub a dub dub, no
duckys in the tub at least
not on Saturday, March 19
They will surely all be in the
water o f Willow Creek
The O ’Ducky Race
starts at the May Street
B ridge, in front o f the
courthouse at 3 p.m on
Saturday Depending on the
strength of the Willow Creek
current, the wee winners of
the annual race will be
floating to the finish line at
the fo o tb rid g e by the
museum building and the RV
Park about 15 or 20 minutes
later
E nterin g a duck
(plastic) in the race is simple
and could result in a prize of
$100, $75, $50, $25, or $10.
The first five places are paid
Duck entries will be for sale
on Main Street near the TV
office until shortly before
race time Each entry costs
$3, or two-for-$5
The luck of the Irish
has been with many a visitor,
as well as local participants,
over the years Proceeds
from the O ’Ducky Race help
to finance the Colt football
program
Vendors’ Square
Local and visiting vendors will offer a variety of
crafts and treasures daily during the three-day celebration
The Neighborhood Center hosts the group in its parking
lot on Main Street, across from the library-museum building
and City Park More information about the Vendors’ Square
is available at 676-5024
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The original St. Pat’s weekend event consisted of
P e n d le to n ’s radio station KUMA’s C offee H o u r’s
broadcasting from the showroom o f Jim Farley’s car
dealership in Heppner From that simple format of the host’s
visiting with some o f H eppner’s first Irish families’
representatives, the weekend celebration has grown to
include a wide variety of events for all ages. Still, however,
KUMA returns each year to broadcast live from Heppner.
Now a one-hour-plus variety show hosted by Tom Melton
and a sidekick, the program begins at 10 A M., broadcasting
from the Elks building
In keeping with the emphasis on Heppner’s Irish
heritage, the Grand Marshall o f this year’s parade will be
one o f the first introductions on the Coffee Hour Other
introductions, interspersed with toe-tapping music and
some joke telling, will include visiting dignitaries and the
Morrow County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo Court
Before a standing-room-only crowd, the Irish and
the Irish-for-a-day will entertain with music and humor
Scheduling o f all performers for the KUMA Coffee Hour
is yet to be completed, but a staple o f the show is John
Doherty and the Irish Singers. This sometimes-rowdy group
can move the crowd to tears, to hand clapping, and to
laughter with their renditions o f Irish ballads, other songs,
and stories. Joining them on stage will be a talented local
writer and singer, Joe Lindsay, who has written some
energetic Irish-Heppner-related songs for the weekend
events. The strings o f Mulligan Stew will impress the
audience, as these fiddle students of Peg Willis of Pendleton
contribute their talents to the hour’s entertainment. One
segment the audience looks forward to is the brogue
contest. Anyone who wishes to compete simply recites a
poem, sings a song, or tells a story in his or her best Irish-
sounding voice. The audience decides the winners o f the
cash prizes for first, second, and third place
And speaking o f prizes during the coffee hour, the
second drawing for a $100 pot o ’ gold will make another
commemorative button owner very happy And it will surely
mean a leprechaun is close by.
Weekend Food comes in variety
There is always room for one more at an Irish table
and there is always room for one more at the many tables set
in Heppner on the March 17-20 weekend
The Heppner eateries are eager to serve from their
menus, each featuring special entrees for the weekend and
some vendors will be open on Mam Street. Local restaurants
include the Pot O’ Gold Café on Chase Street and John’s,
GD’s, Willow Creek Diner and Bucknum’s on Mam Street
The delicatessen foods at Central Market and at the Chevron
station offer variety and options, as well
Setting the atmosphere for the Irish weekend and the
camaraderie that goes with that is Mrs O ’Leary’s Stew Feed
at the St Patrick’s O’Semor Center on Friday. The Methodist
Church congregation will be serving from 5-7 p m.
The Elks Club also offers a buffet on Friday evening
and after Saturday’s corned beef and cabbage buffet, they
provide music.
Saturday morning begins for the hungry early risers
at the O ’Semor Center, where those volunteers will serve
breakfast from 7-9:30 a m They will then shift gears and
cooking ware, to prepare their homemade soup, bread and
pie for the lunch crowd
Serving up the o’barbecue of chicken and ribs is
Kessler’s Katermg on Saturday, from II a m to 4 p.m in the
City Park
The St Patrick Church congregation will start serving
their ham dinner Saturday at 4 p m at their parish hall The
diners will have the pleasure of music by the Lindsay family
Into the wee hours of Sunday morning, the volunteer
fire department will be ready to serve its Wee Hours O’ the
Momin’ Breakfast At the fire hall on Willow Street, the
volunteers will begin serving at 10pm on Saturday and stand
by with food for the hungry until 3 a m
The Nazarene Church congregation will begin the
Sunday morning fare at 8 a m Their church hall is at 335
North Gilmore, and the cooks will be serving up a hearty
breakfast until 10:30 a m
I
From 2-4 p.m., on Saturday, March 19, celebrants
can experience more things Irish by sitting in at the Ceili
(pronounced “kay-lee”) This variety show, held in the
warmth o f the Elks building, is emceed by Mike Duffy, o f
the Irish Singers and offers a fast-paced two hours of
entertainment
If it is Irish, it can be humorous and John Doherty
and the Irish Singers will be on hand to guarantee laughter
They will continue their repertoire o f traditional Irish songs,
with their signature sound
Joe Lindsay will return to the stage to delight the
audience with his original songs and renditions o f other
Irish tunes Shenanigans and Mulligan Stew have delighted
audiences with their fiddle music for several years now
and these two groups seem to enjoy their playing as much
as or more than the listeners do Another local group
looking forward to strutting their stuff during the Ceili is
the Shamrockettes This will be their first St Pat’s Weekend
performance o f their routines set to Irish music. A fairly
new singing group on the local scene will also be debuting
on the Ceili stage this year The Wannabe’s will sing Irish
and then maybe answer the question. "Wannabe what?"
Shuttle Service
More than a wee distance exists among some
weekend events, so St Pat’s Saturday shuttle service will
surely prove useful. Volunteer leprechauns will be making
their stops throughout the day, at one-hour intervals, from
8 a m until 5 p m , Saturday, March 19
Brightly colored sidewalk signs will mark the stops,
from the Willow Creek RV Park south o f Heppner to the
Sheep Dog Trials north o f town. The service is free and
the drivers are eager to get celebrants where they want to
be. They also stress that they will make every effort to
maintain the schedule, though unforeseen circumstances #
might create brief delays from time to time.
The stops include: Willow Creek RV Park, Heppner
Hardware (Southeast Main and May Streets), Morrow
County Fairgrounds, Sheep Dog Trials at the Thompson
Ranch, Riverside Street near the Agricultural Exhibition
and parking, Main Street across from the library/museum/
city park and the Forest Service Building (west corner of
Main and May Streets.)
On Saturday evening, if details can be worked out,
the shuttle will also provide transportation to the 7:30 p.m
Campbell Road concert at the elementary school
Irish Hoop Shoot
What makes a hoop shoot Irish? Maybe its the
lineage of the participants, the spirit o f competition, or just
the fact that it is part o f the Wee Bit O ’ Ireland celebration
in Heppner. The shoot is free, sponsored by the Colts
basketball program. Organizer Rod Wilson says it is meant
to be a fun time for all and a contribution to the weekend’s
festivities.
The first o f three divisions will begin shooting at
10 a m., in the driveway o f the Bank o f Eastern Oregon.
The age groups will be 5-7, 8-10 and 11-13. Certificates
redeemable at local businesses will be awarded to the top
three scorers in each division.
Shooting will use a “round-the-world” set-up. Each
participant’s score will be the total number of attempts he
or she needs for making a shot from each o f seven spots on
the semi-circle
No matter the weather, Wilson knows the hoop
shoot will draw several enthusiastic participants. And he
knows, too, that the adults will be enthusiastic about the
recent change in location o f the hoop shoot, for they will
be able to watch from under the protection o f the nearby
covered walkway.
Celebration button highlights new
event
In the fifth year o f the “Wee Bit O ’ Ireland”
celebration, a com m em orative 2.5-inch button was
designed Each year’s button is uniquely designed by a local
artist, numbered and sold at local businesses and at the
information booth on Main Street. Each year’s limited
edition sells out, making the button more precious to
collectors, o f whom few have complete collections.
The $3 button has three chances o f winning $100
during the weekend o f the celebration Drawings will be
held at Friday’s “Luck O ’ the Irish Casino Night” and on
Saturday at the morning’s KUMA Coffee Hour and at the
evening’s Campbell Road Concert.
The button designed for 2005 is highlighting the
addition of the Casino Night to our events On the button,
our little leprechaun seems to be practicing its card-dealing
skills. Proceeds from button sales help to fund weekend
activities at the next annual celebration
Marriage License
Births
Feb. 14: Roland Lee
Gaylor, 67, Alturas, CA and
B etty Ann B aker, 57,
Alturas, CA
Feb. 18: Isaac
G uzm an M urguia, 33,
Boardm an and Eduviges
M arquez G uzm an, 33,
Boardman
Feb. 23: D aniel
Lezama, 25, Boardman and
Elizabeth Magallanes, 23,
Boardman
Feb. 25: David Daril
Trowbridge, 29, Hermiston
and Chrissa Dawn Chapman,
22, Boardman
A ndrew Joseph
Stanger- a son, A ndrew
Joseph, was born Feb 14,
2005, at Good Shepherd
M edical
C en ter
in
Hermiston, to Ashley and
Lance
S tan g er
of
Boardman
J a y cie Johanna
Taylor- a daughter, Jaycie
Johanna, was bom Feb 14,
2005, at Good Shepherd
M edical
C en ter
in
H erm iston, to C atherine
Chuitt and David Taylor of
Irrigon
Osvaldo Chopin- a
son, Osvaldo, was bom Feb
16, 2005 at Good Shepherd
M edical
C en ter
in
Hermiston, to Magdalena
and Abel C hopin o f
Boardman.
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