Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 22, 1993 TAG: 9304220372
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON RICHERT STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That was "after the war, you know," recalls Goode, a 86-year-old Vinton Realtor who was then a member of the William Byrd High School band boosters.
"Mr. Jennings and I went out to the old Victory Stadium, and William Byrd was playing Jefferson [High School]. The Jefferson band came out, and they looked sharp!"
Especially compared to the Byrd band, whose "shabby" uniforms lacked sparkle and shine next to the snazzy Jefferson Magicians'.
One Jefferson strut across the field, and Goode and William Byrd's then-principal Jennings knew Vinton's growing band needed a new look. So they started a movement to raise money to buy new uniforms for Vinton's marching band.
Part of that movement was the push for an area band festival. And in 1955, the Vinton Dogwood Festival commenced.
It just happened that, around that same time, Virginia had adopted the dogwood as its state flower. Goode says that's how the festival got its name. The festival's main money-maker - selling dogwood trees - also fit the newly named festival nicely.
Saturday's Vinton Dogwood Festival, now in its 38th year, will be far different from the ones of its formative years. The numbers of bands don't come like they used to, many folks agree. And the Miss Vinton Dogwood Pageant has replaced the school beauty queens each band used to bring for the prettiest-queen-contests of 30-some years ago.
Festival folks aren't selling dogwood trees anymore, either.
But today's festivals are as big as ever. Saturday's parade, even with fewer marching bands, is still the highlight, with Washington Redskins football player Joe Jacoby leading it as grand marshall.
The annual beauty pageant slated for Saturday night will draw its usual crowd of pageant fans eager to see who'll be crowned Miss Vinton Dogwood, and thereby qualify for this summer's Miss Virginia pageant.
And, these days, instead of selling dogwood trees, folks sell chances for cars or other big-time prizes. This year, festival folks are raffling off a home entertainement center.
Bike and foot races are there for the sports-minded, and car shows for the auto-minded. Arts and crafts, kids' activities, musical entertainment and a Civil War encampment round out the day.
Saturday's will be a far cry from the first Dogwood Festival, Jennings believes, but certainly a show day for the town.
"Back in those years, the beginning years, Vinton was a community - and still is - . . . interested in supporting its town organizations and school organizations."
Today's festival, as 89-year-old Jennings sees it, is "a booster for the community, a booster for Vinton."
Still, Goode has two ideas that might make Saturday's festival even better: He longs to hear a hearty rendition of "Stars and Stripes" from Virginia Tech's regimental band, The Highty-Tighties, who will be the feature band in Saturday's festival parade.
And, he'd love to see some more dogwoods downtown. In fact, "I think there ought to be more dogwoods everywhere! They're pretty trees."
by CNB