There have been lots of activities going on at the Charleston Chamber office in anticipation of the festival April 17-20! We have a new fresh look to greet all of the visitors that will be coming into our town.

Thanks to Mary Jane Whitehead, Lee Ann Cullison, Pam Barrett, Jeannie Burke, and Brenda French we now have an upscale new office.

The K-Kids have delivered posters and brochures to our businesses with colorful flowers made by Liz Ray’s art class.

Also, under the direction of Angie Duenne and Kathy Rolwing, flowers and have been planted down the east wall and around the street sign. I was so proud of the kid’s hard work and enthusiasm!

The t-shirts are in and they are going fast. The art work was done by Glenda Manche and the design shows up so well on the many different colors chosen this year.

The first event of the festival starts next Monday night with the queen contest. It is a fun night to see all the young girls dressed up and excited about the contest. The queens will be a special addition to the parade on Saturday.

Another event that I would recommend is the Talent Show on Friday night. It is free and many of the musicians that perform during the candlelight walk will be performing at the Clara Drinkwater Newnam auditorium. Each group will sing for about 20 minutes and the show is truly a treat for anyone who attends.

We will be giving away St. Louis Cardinal tickets with a $10.00 donation at 7:00 PM after the Candlelight Walk.

The game is between the Cardinals and Pittsburg Pirates and the date is Wednesday May 14, 2008 at 7:15 p.m.

It always amazes me when all of Charleston pulls together to make each festival so spectacular. Let’s make the 40th the best one ever!