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CONTENTS General information and schedule of events Lodi Grape Festival honors nation with patriotic theme, ‘America the Beautiful’ Mural captures festival’s patriotic theme Fair talent guaranteed to rock Lodi with funk, alternative, blues Don and Jean Phillips head this year’s parade as grand marshals Festival parade comes from months of planning, effort Patriotic festival theme turns Grape Pavilion into a hall of flags Festival presents chance to taste fine local wines Good eats, from snacks to desserts, can be found at the festival Bobbie Norton: Invaluable behind-the-scenes person Answers to Grape Festival trivia questions Butler Amusements brings fun, games to Grape Festival Step right up and win a stuffed bulldog! Talented people make murals with grapes Hewlett-Packard brings technology exhibit to town Swan Brothers bring comedy circus to festival once again Don’t forget to visit the petting zoo Grape Festival features tobacco-free zones for fair-goers Festival Web site tells what to see, do 2002 president Caroline Lange has years of festival experience Board of directors plans for four-day event all year 2001 Grape Festival carried on despite terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. From Tokay to today: Evolution of the Grape Festival |
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2001 Grape Festival carried on despite terrorist
attacks in New York, Washington, D.C.
By Ross Farrow Lodi Grape Festival officials considered canceling all or part of the 2001 Grape Festival because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but agreed in the end to open the festival as scheduled. “The terrorists did this to shut the United States down,” said Jean Rauser, the 2001 president of the festival’s board of directors. “The consensus of the board was that if we canceled the festival, all we’re doing is giving in to exactly what they want.” During an emergency session on the Wednesday morning following the attack, festival directors decided to have the festival as planned and not follow the lead of professional baseball and some college football teams which canceled their games that week. The festival gates on East Lockeford Street then opened at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13 and remained open through the festival’s through the following Sunday. Festival General Manager Mark Armstrong said he couldn’t decide on the day of the attacks whether to have the festival at all. “I spent half my time in a daze,” Armstrong said. He talked about the terrorist attacks and their effect on the community with several people for two days. Armstrong said he heeded the advice of Lodi Police Chief Jerry Adams, who advised him that Tuesday morning to wait 24 hours before deciding what to do. Armstrong also contacted the state Fair and Exposition office to find out how other festivals throughout California were responding to the tragedy. County fairs in Watsonville, Tulare and Pomona were shut down on Sept. 11, 2001, but they all opened Wednesday, Sept. 12 said Fair and Exposition spokesman Steve Lyle. The state allowed individual fairs to base their decisions on the dynamics of their own communities, Lyle said. “We don’t want to necessarily celebrate our harvest as much as we want to say to the people we aren’t going to shut down,” Rauser said. “We’ve got to stand up as a nation and not let them bring us to our knees.” While keeping the gates open, the festival board made some changes. Among them: • Acquiring as many American flags as possible for display during the festival. Employees spent Wednesday, Sept. 12 shopping every place they could think of for flags. • Donating $1 from every full-price adult admission to relief efforts related to the Sept. 11 tragedies. The American Red Cross was on hand to accept donations. “The healing process will be long, and it is our hope that by holding the Grape Festival this weekend (2001) we can gather our community and begin that recovery,” Armstrong said in a prepared statement. Armstrong said he didn’t see a significant correlation between the Grape Festival and sports teams that canceled their games. Major League Baseball and college football involve situations where teams would have to fly to their destinations, a major problem because airlines were shut down and personal safety was a concern. On the other hand, no one would be flying to town for the Grape Festival, Armstrong said. Festival organizers were wondering how the Sept. 11 events would affect attendance that weekend. “We could have half the people as last year; we may have more,” Armstrong said. Carol Thompson of Riverside, setting up a balloon stand the Wednesday before the 2001 festival was set to open, said, “Whether the public’s ready to get back to normal, I don’t know.” “Will they want to come and have a little relief?” Rauser wondered. “You can only watch TV (newscasts) so much. We’re going to downplay our entertainment.” Wes Fujitani, chairman of the Grape Festival Parade which always takes place on Sunday, the last day of the festival, didn’t plan any changes due to the terrorist attacks. “Maybe it will give the community the chance to show some patriotism” and come together as a community, Fujitani said. Rauser and Armstrong said that the myriad of employees and volunteers setting up exhibits, food booths and carnival rides the Tuesday and Wednesday — the day of and following the attacks — were diligently doing their job, but the mood was a somber one. Home | News | Sports | Business | Features | Opinion | Obituaries |Classifieds | Archives |
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