By Deanne Lowenstein
News-Sentinel staff writer

Patriotism has been at an all-time high in Lodi and across the nation after Sept. 11 and it has not gone unnoticed, especially by the planning committee for the annual Lodi Grape Festival and Harvest Fair.

When the tragic events of Sept. 11 played out on TV for the whole nation to see, the festival committee was unaware of what was occurring 3,000 miles away.

They went into their office like any other Tuesday prior to opening day of the annual festival, planning the fun-filled weekend that lay ahead. Booths were in preparation and advance tickets were ready to be sold just like every year before.

“O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed his grace on thee Till nobler men keep once again Thy whiter jubilee!” --“America the Beautiful”

As news of the events trickled in, the committee turned on the TV and watched in horror as other Americans did that Tuesday.

“Everything came to a screeching halt,” said Mark Armstrong, festival general manager. “Everyone was glued to the TV.”

The members of the committee were asking the same questions as most American citizens. Why? Who? How?

However, they were also left with a huge dilemma. Should the festival go on as planned, or should they cancel it? Would this be the first year Lodi would be without the annual event in 57 years.

In the 65 years the festival has been going on, it has only been canceled from 1942-45 during World War II.

Everyone felt the need to go home and be with their families as did most of America. However, they knew something good would come out of having the fair.

A special board meeting was held to discuss the matter and the decision was made that the festival should go on as planned.

“We made the decision that it was better to go on with it,” Armstrong said. “We thought people would like to gather and blow off steam. To concentrate on having fun rather than on a terrible thing.”

Flags were distributed to fair-goers and extreme American pride was expressed by all. The turnout to the fair was only a little less than the prior year’s attendance. It was evident that the people of Lodi were touched by the events and proud of their country.

From the outpouring of patriotism expressed at last year’s fair came the idea for this year’s theme, “America the Beautiful.”

“We wanted to celebrate the great country we live in and that we are able to have such great events like this,” Armstrong said.

Even though last year’s fair was a success, the attacks did affect the festival in some aspects. Musical element of the fair was toned down and before each big show “America the Beautiful” was sung. Radio promotions were scaled back. This year, the event will not be promoted on Sept. 11.

However, more good came come from holding the fair. The Red Cross benefited with the donation of $1 of each adult ticket which came to approximately $30,000. The organization also collected donations at the fair with their first aid booth.

Security last year and this year hasn’t changed because of the threat of terrorism.

“We already have great security. We have always felt our security was good,” Armstrong said. “We didn’t beef it up last year or this year.”

There were only four arrests out of the 90,0000 people that attended the festival last year, Armstrong said.

Patriotism will be expressed throughout the festival this year, with more than 300 flags flying around the fairgrounds. In the pavilion, the 50 state flags will be displayed along with a 30-foot by 20-foot American flag. Also, a new “America the Beautiful” mural will be on hand for viewing.