Return of Little Cousin Jasper

The Little Cousin Jasper Festival is coming back after two years absence. Below is one of the very few pictures I have of an old Little Cousin Jasper Festival--it shows the SJC band in 2006. The SJC band will make its appearance this year on Friday at 6:00 according to the schedule of events that you can get by downloading a pdf brochure here.
Little Cousin Jasper was never a favorite with me--it seemed to have no real purpose or clear theme and there were too many junky booths. Other people really enjoyed it, and I do respect the amount of effort needed to put this festival together. I found the old website, with some history--I had not known or remembered that the festival organization was responsible for the gazebo on the court house lawn. I found the new website on Facebook.

If you have nothing to do Saturday, you can sit downtown and watch the entertainment all day Saturday. The "Rensselaer's got talent" from 3 to 5 may be very entertaining or it may be a disaster--maybe I will attend just to see which it is.

Here is the schedule of events from the brochure:
Friday, Sept 11, 2009
12:00 pm Booths Open
5:00-7:00 pm 1st Christian Church Beef & Noodle Dinner
6:00-9:00 pm Bingo
Sponsor Greater Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce
6:00 pm Opening Ceremonies-
Mayor, Commissioners and Judge Ahler ntroduced
Star Spangled Banner Sung by Kelli Hopkins
Announcement of Past Festival Royalty
Little King and Queen Candidates 2009 Sponsor Rensselaer Volunteer Fire Dept. Auxiliary
Announcement of 2009 Winners
Saint Joseph College Band (Main Stage)
7:30 pm Community Band
(times & events scheduled subject to change without notice)

Saturday, September 12, 2009
8:00 am 5 K Walk/Run at The Gazebo
9:00 am Booths Open on the Grounds Booths Open at the Firehouse
9:00 am Corn Hole Tournament at the Eagles
9:00 am 3 on 3 Basketball - Harrison & Van Rensselaer
9:00-10:00 am Prairie Arts Dance Troup
10:00-11:00 am Pop Warner Cheerleaders on Stage
10:00-11:00 am Strings of Comfort in The Gazebo
11:00am-Noon Iroquois Valley Harmonizrs
12:00 pm Parade–Russ Martin, Announcer
1:00-2:00 pm Nerd Band
1:00-9:00 pm Bingo Sponsor Greater Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce
2:00-3:00 pm Horse Shoe Cloggers
3:00 pm Duck Derby Sponsor Rensselaer Volunteer Fire Dept. Auxiliary
3:00-5:00 pm Rensselaer Has Talent
5:00 pm Vendicated Christian Rock Band
4:00 pm Fish Fry at the Eagles
6:00-7:30 pm New Vision Band
8:00-9:30 pm New Hope Revival
8:00 pm Teen Dance - Town Mall Parking Lot Travis Maddox DJ Sponsor Community Alliance

Sunday, September 13, 2009
6:00 am-Noon Rens. Vol. Fire Dept. Pancake & Sausage Breakfast
9:00 am Booths Open
9:00 am Remote Control Car Races National City Parking Lot
10:30 am Praise and Worship Service
3:00 pm Baby Picture Winner Announced
3:00 pm Booths Close

Finally, here is the king and queen contest from the 2006 version from youtube.
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