A CBA Co-Sponsored Event... "Blues Day" at Milwaukie Festival Daze! Lots of fun and great music in store — volunteers needed to help make it a success!

    June 14-16 (Friday through Sunday) will see the return of Milwaukie's annual summer festival — Milwaukie Festival Daze! This year the CBA is co-sponsoring a special "Blues Day" to take place on Saturday, June 15th — an entire day of the Festival dedicated to the blues! And we've got some great activities and music that you will not want to miss.

    The day will start at 10:00 A.M. with a parade through Milwaukie's city center. The CBA is sponsoring a parade entry that will feature the high-energy blues sounds of the Richard Day-Reynolds Band and the Jake Blair Band, rolling through the streets on a flatbed trailer! Parade-goers will also get to enjoy the blues harp stylings of Ty Cobb as he rolls along in a sleek convertible. The folks from Blues In Schools will be participating in the parade with us as well, letting the community know about the important work the CBA is doing in partnership with Ethos, Inc. to help area kids develop an awareness of their musical roots. We'll have clowns running alongside the CBA vehicle and tossing candy to the kids, CBA harmonicas for sale right there along the parade route, and everything else that makes a Blues Day Parade a kick in the pants.

    Not long after the parade ends, the music will begin at the junior high school in downtown Milwaukie. How's this for a lineup: the TC Blues Band, Duffy Bishop, Richard Day-Reynolds and Robbie Laws!!! And better still, all of this amazing blues music will be absolutely FREE. That's right — on June 15th, all you've got to do if you want to hear some of the best blues Portland has to offer is to make your way to downtown Milwaukie and find a comfortable place to sit down...though you'll undoubtedly be back on your feet again once the groove gets ya!

    One very exciting part of the day's music schedule will be a special performance by none other than Mr. Allen deLay on the musical saw! Allen is known to many, of course, as the father of local blues master Paul deLay. But he's also a longtime Milwaukie resident who has had a very positive impact on his community. In addition to being a professional photographer and a former Olympic diver, Allen is also an expert player of the musical saw — and he has agreed to honor us with a performance on this special day.

    Besides being a weekend of family entertainment and fun, Milwaukie Festival Daze also incorporates the Bing Cherry Festival, a celebration of the community's renown as a producer of that delicious fruit...so if the lure of the blues isn't quite enough to get you there (how is that even possible?!), the prospect of sinking your teeth into sweet, freshly-picked bing cherries (er...subject to seasonal availability, of course...) should seal the deal.

    Okay...now that we've got you committed to being there, this is the part where the next shoe drops. We need volunteer help from CBA members to make this event a success! Anyone reading this is capable of helping out in one way or another — so please chip in wherever you can, and help make it a better event for everyone involved! Here's a list of the areas where we need help:

    If you can help with any of these items, please contact Amy Allen via e-mail or phone (503-777-2301), or you can sign up at the monthly meeting on June 5th. Those interested in helping to decorate our parade entry should plan to meet at the Southgate Theater in Milwaukie at 8:30 A.M. Thanks for any help you can provide — it really makes a difference!

Amy Allen

© 2002 Cascade Blues Association