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AR EE pan Ny rT ---- 6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, July 19, 1988 Editorial Comments Blimey, It was A Good Show Port Perry's four day extravaganza, Great Britain Festi- val Days in now history, but it will be etched in the memo- ry of area residents for weeks to come. From the opening ceremonies last Thursday night at, which the "town cryer" proclaimed the Festival open, until Sunday afternoon when hundreds of people turned out to - witness a five band Tattoo, the weekend was an unquali- fied success. The Scugog Chamber of Commerce has once again excelled in presenting this annual summer festival, which has been taking place in Port Perry for the past eighteen years. Festival Days as we know it today, actually got its start in 1971 when a committee was elected to plan and orga- nize Port Perry's Centennial celebrations. Following this successful event the first Scugog Chamber of Commerce Western Weekend was started the next summer. Western Weekend was a very popular event for many years, but when it was apparent people were tired of the theme, the popular summer event was changed to Festi- val Days. | That was four years ago, and since then residents and visitors to our community have been experiencing Festi- vals each summer with just a little different theme. For the two years prior to this summer, residents and visitors enjoyed the charm and colour of both the Caribb- ean and Bahamas, as the town was changed into an Is- land paradise for a few days. : This year, the theme was changed once again, with Great Britain being chosen. Although there may have been some skeptics about the success of the new theme, there were no more this year than when the event was changed from Western Weekend just a few short years ago. The continued success of Festival Days is contingent upon the hard work and enthusiasm of members of the Scugog Chamber of Commerce, and the support of the residents of Port Perry, the business community and other service clubs. | Port Perry is indeed fortunate to have a business com- munity and service clubs that work together to make the town the vibrant and progressive place it has become. Without this co-operation an event the size and magnitude of Festival Days could not be accomplished Contrary to what some may think, Festival Days does not just happen......it takes a lot of planning and a tremen- dous sacrifice of time. On behalf of the residents of Port Perry and area, the Star would like to say "Thanks" to all those involved in - bringing a bit of Britain to Port Perry this past weekend. We are sure anyone who participated in any of the many + events will agree it was a great show! Port Perry STAR 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Phone 985-7383 P.0.Box90 LOB 1NO J. PETER HVIDSTEN (*Cna | Cn Member of the Publisher Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Advertising Manager Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd., Port Perry, Ontario. J.B. McCLELLAND Editor Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for cash CATHY OLLIFFE payment of postage in cash. News & Features Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 DIAN Coma ¥ v rr ch Nip . OA Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year. Ra 0sas peso Chl Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50° © COPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the adver- tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. J ~~ by = 1 -.. Bow AN' ARROWS ARE OL' FASHION. -- Festival Days Teen Chatterbox by Cathy Olliffe FEELING | didn't think it would ever happen, but it did, on Thursday night. | felt old. Doug and | were helping out a little bit at the ance, serving up non- alcoholic pina coladas and singapore slings to youngsters as they took breaks from the ri- gours of dancing. (Here's the difference between adults and kids: kids dance until they're too hot and then drink. Adults have to drink themselves silly be- fore they'll dance) At first, we were feeling pretty "in", pretty trendy, bopping around behind the bar to the likes of Billy Idol and Dire Straits. But then all heck broke loose. A teenager approached us at the bar and began complaining about the music. "Everyone's going to leave," she said. "This kind of music is okay for the pre-teens, but not for us. It's too old. If you want this dance to be a success, you have to do something about the music." Well, we didn't do anything about the music. It simply wasn't up to us. Besides, we couldn't see anything wrong with what was being played. Good. solid danceable stuff. Suddenly, however, it seemed the teenag- ers took matters into their own hands. The asked permission to play their own tapes--it was granted, and before you could say "head- banging", some weird new wave synthesized stuff (I could hardly call it music) was blaring through the speakers. The place simply went nuts. The teenagers took te the dance floor in droves, throwing . themselves into the most bizarre dance steps this reporter has ever seen. They were having a great time. We were wishing we had ear plugs. Doug said, "We never used to listen to stuff like this when we were young. Even Led Zep- pelin at its loudest at least had a melody." And | knew, right then and there, that we were over the hill. | mean, geez, that's what our parents used to say to us hats not even music--you can't understand the words and it has no melody"). A there we were, saying exactly the same thing. | always swore that I'd never say that. That I'd keep up on music trends with an open mind. Sigh. The old mind wasn't too open on Thursday night. | felt totally square--and I'm not even out of my twenties yet. OLD But the dance revealed something else a trifle more reassuring. "Other than the music, and the clothes, teen: Jances haven't changed much since | was a id. © The format is still the same. Girls clustered in giggling groups on one side of the hall, boys clustered on the other side. Each side slyly watching the other. Not much dancing at first, and then girls dancing with girls before the guys haul up enough nerve to ask the secret loves of their lives. And when they do finally meet in a "slow dance", it's a special occasion, something to be remembered throughout adulthood. The tangling of long bony limbs, the awkward slow circling on the dance floor, the intense heat of having someone of the opposite sex so close. Not everyone is allowed to experience this at every dance, only a chosen few. The pretti- est girls, the most popular boys. The others try to look "busy," walking self- consciously back and forth across the room in a serious attempt to appear "above" the entire proceedings. | remember that walk only too well. It seems gveryone knows how to do it, without being taught. A brave, lonely walk--the sole reserve Y of teenage dances. FESTIVAL DAYS Well, yet another Festival Days has bit the dust, much to my personal relief. As always, the weekend was fun, but ex- tremely tiring. There's just so much to see and do, and to photograph for the paper. From a reporter's standpoint, the events continue in a steady stream, and attendance is mandatory at each and every event. | After only a few hours of Festival Days, | get paranoid that | might miss something, and so | wind up patrolling up and down Queen Street, hunting for that elusive shot | might otherwise miss. And although | set a limit on how many pic- tures | will take, | always overdo it--and wind up with eight or more films to develop on Monday morning. Don't get me wrong--1 think Festival Days is great, and the organizers (especially Chamber of Commerce President Debbie Jones) de- serve a hearty round of applause. It was one terrific weekend---but boy oh boy, am | glad it's over!