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The
next
festival
is
planned
for
the
Fall
of
2005
The
2004
festival
was
not
held
at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
and Carlsbad, New Mexico
Contact
Meg Milligan 505-885-9041
e-mail at RAMM@zianet.com
for more information
The 6th Annual BatFest! International was a great success.
Planning is already underway for the 7th in 2004. Here is a
summary plus special thanks to everyone who helped from BatFest
chairperson, Meg Milligan.
Wow! After months of planning and preparation, it's OVER! The BatFest! has come and gone for another year, but we're already planning for the next one on the 17th & 18th of September, 2004. There are a lot of folks to thank for making this year's a success.
First, I'd like to thank God for the incredibly lovely, un-August like weather which seemed a direct answer to the desparate prayers of the committee. On the morning of the Bat Flight Breakfast, it was even a bit chilly outside the glow of the kerosene lamp on the table. I've lived thru one or two Augusts here when the overnight low was in the 90's, so the cool breezes and reasonable temperatures were a big part of the success. It is also a major reason the BatFest! is moving back to September; we can't abuse such benevolence.
Mayor Bob Forrest was an integral part of this year's event. He proclaimed the name of the city be changed to Carlsbat for the weekend at the Opening Ceremonies on Friday evening at the Caverns, and was up bright and early to participate in the fun run/walk on Saturday. He was a terrific parade marshall, and even watched some of the other activities. His support and participation were a huge boost, and we appreciate it.
The committee was awesome. The major players, Judi Michelson (Fun Run/Walk, t-shirts, and almost anything else we needed), Sybil Waltersheid (the genius behind this year's theme, "Bats on Bikes," Walk monitor (with her husband James), and maven of the education table for the Library), and Linda Frank (who staffed the table for the Living Desert), were ably assisted by Stanley and Sharon Evans, Randy Milligan, Norm Frank, and Howard Vasquez. Councilman Paul Aguilar acted as our liaison with the City Council, and his attendance at the meetings was appreciated.
The Carlsbad Municipal Library gave us meeting space and tons of help, planned for educational activities for kids, found every book they had on bats and put them in a lovely display, and then put up a table at the Park with tons of stuff for kids to do. It was staffed by Cassandra Arnold, Mary Moore, Samantha Villa, and Sybil Waltersheid, who faced the wind head-on and gave great information and games about bats.
Don Hughes and Dave Shanks were very accommodating about bringing us on with the Hawgfest, and their assistants, Gwinnet Bradley and Sheli Kelly provided invaluable help and guidance.
Rick LoBello, who started this ball rolling back in '97, gave us such great publicity on Liz Kern's show on KDBC in El Paso (as well as maintaining the web site) that I think half the city was here. Great job!
Superintendent Mary Scott from the Carlsbad Caverns National Park kindly provided the sound system for the opening ceremonies, and came in costume (Seniorita Frita) with her husband (Carl S. Bat) on Saturday to ride in the parade.
Jay Jenkins of Carlsbad National Bank took a lot of time out of his crammed schedule to ensure we had a special postal cancelation, and Mike Veilleux brought Sylvia Carrasco and Rich Mathews to the opening ceremonies, where they provided a lot of folks with canceled Caverns post cards and bat stamps. They were in the park on Saturday, too, in spite of the breezy conditions.
Of course, we wouldn't have had the cancelation or the way cool t-shirts without the splendid art work of Gerri Mattson. Randy Milligan, whose creative genius knows no bounds, finalized Gerri's adorable rendition of "Bats on Bikes!" into a format focusing on the international roots of the BatFest!
The t-shirt sponsors were extremely generous: The Firehouse, Portage, Inc., Western Commerce Bank, and the Milligan Apartment Complex. Your support is deeply appreciated. Thanks also to The Firehouse, Jeff Diamond, and Judi Michelson for their contributions to the prizes.
All the free publicity provided by The Carlsbad Current Argus, KCCC Radio (the Bob and Guy Show every Tuesday at noon), CD-104 (KCDY-FM), and KENW-Portales was great in getting the word out. The stories preceding and following up on the BatFest! were terrific.
Parades must have Parade Marshalls, and Dick Cantwell generously supplied both lead cars: a classic Mustang for the Mayor and Seniorita Frita, and a late model Mustang for Carl S. Bat. Shirley Cantwell supplied the muscle behind the shine on the second car. They were both beautiful, and Dick drove the Mayor's car while Greg Brown drove Carl S. Bat. Julie Renfrow not only helped Barbara Smith set the parade up, but helped the Humvee dealer from El Paso out by driving one of his vehicles. Many thanks to all.
Thanks to Ross Hyden for lending us the black PT Cruiser as our Bat Mobile, which Judi Michelson drove after Randy Milligan finished applying the wings. Thanks also for the other Ross Hyden cars. The girls in Brownie Troop 22 were truly troopers, led by Terri Judah and walking, biking, or scootering the entire parade length. We put them in front of the horses supplied by the Carlsbad Quarterhorse Club, the Eddy County Sheriff's Posse, and Miss Teen Rodeo. We also had Sarah Rousch, Miss New Mexico Jr. Teen. No western parade is complete without horses, and Shawna Roberson came thru with less than 24 hours notice. What a woman!
A fire truck and ambulance were provided by Carlsbad Fire Station #1. The motorcycles from the Hawgfest were all behind the firetruck--and there were HUNDREDS! The Carlsbad Police Department and Eddy County Sheriff's Department provided escorts at each end. Many thanks to these busy folks for taking time from their work to support the BatFest!
The Baptist Bluegrass Boys provided terrific gospel music, both for the parade and later in the park under the trees, where they played for a small crowd for over an hour. Thanks to the band, especially Pastor Eugene Ray, who put it all together on very short notice.
The Unidentified Floating Object race was even more fun with 3 contestants, two of whom were past champions. Thanks to Michael Bromka, Randy Milligan, and the entire crew of the Otis Princess, Danny, Sam, and Jesse Bass, Zack Bellah, and Cody Harris. The designers and builders of the Princess were Jesse and his mom, Catherine Bass, and grandfather, C. M. Moffatt, the official welder of the craft. Mike Barton and Lee Cauley assisted with a tow against the spirited breeze that caught the high-profile Princess in its grip. Thanks for helping!
Start designing plans for your craft for next year's BatFest! International on September 17th at the Caverns and 18th at the Park. We've had a fellow volunteer to add a bike race to the other activities so we can hold a triathalon. Mostly, it's just going to be great fun for the whole family. Thanks to everyone for making this year's festival a success, and see you next year!
Meg Milligan
For all
those who haven't adopted one of these cute little creatures you can
adopt one at the home page of the Carlsbad
Caverns Guadalupe Mountains Association.
For more
information on Carlsbad Caverns National Park go to the Home
Page of Carlsbad Caverns.
For
information on motels go to the Carlsbad
Chamber of Commerce Motel Directory.
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