The 26th Annual Louisiana Country Colorfest is just over three weeks away and organizers are looking for parade and contest participants, booth entries and volunteers to help make the big festival on Oct. 16-17 along the Mississippi River another huge success.

"There's something for everyone at Colorfest. There's something for people to either do to help or to take part in," noted Colorfest chairperson Mona Brown.

One of the biggest highlights of Colorfest is the parade down Georgia Street which kicks off the celebration on Saturday. The theme of this year's festival is "Celebrating Our Colorful Heritage." Several changes have been announced for the parade and opening ceremony to help streamline events and to make the awards more exciting.

Brown said the opening ceremony has been moved up to 9:45 a.m., at the main stage as the parade prepares to get underway. Miss Colorfest 2009 Paige Kueck will introduce Chamber of Commerce President Dan Jones who will offer a few remarks and lead those at the main stage in the Pledge of Allegiance. The National Anthem will be performed by Jena Johnston.
Brown said the decision to move up the ceremony was made a few months ago as organizers looked for ways to streamline events.

Changes were also made to the parade which begins at 10 a.m. Bill Capps, the parade chairman, said there will be a different style of judging this year to make the parade more fun for participants.

Instead of categories involving the theme of the festival, awards will be presented in the following: Best Overall Business Float and Best Overall Club/Organization or Church Float. Winners will also be selected in the walker division and for classic cars and tractors and for the most original float.

"We thought this provided more opportunities for floats to win. It was also hard for some groups to come up with float ideas that matched the festival themes," Capps said. "This will eliminate that so people can build any kind of float."

A "Best of Show" award will also be presented at the awards ceremony at the main stage directly after the parade which will be led by Don Giltner, the former school administrator and mayor of Louisiana, who will be serving as this year's grand marshal.

Several bands have also been invited and Capps noted the committee is hoping more will take part. Cash prizes are awarded to the best bands.

Capps said entries are currently being accepted and anyone with a business, club, church or organization is urged to take part. Entry forms are available on the festival website at www.louisianacolorfest.com.
Capps pointed out that early entry is helpful. Judging will take place along the parade route instead of in the Raintree Mall parking lot this year. He noted that it will be helpful for parade organizers to know how many will be participating.

Like years past, floats will line up at Raintree Mall, cars and tractors will line up at the school, bands will join in at Sunset Park and the walkers will line up at 9th Street. Anyone with questions can also contact the Chamber of Commerce office at 573-754-5921 or email louisianacolorfest@gmail.com.

Entry forms can also be found for the pageants and contests planned for Colorfest weekend. Brown pointed out the site is a valuable tool for those seeking information about the festival.

"Setting up the Colorfest website was one of the best things we've done," Brown explained. "We can communicate any and everything to the vendors as well as the patrons and, when people ask us questions, we make sure we update the website to include the requested information."

Brown noted there are still some vendor spaces remaining for those interested in having a booth at Colorfest. Those interested can find information on the festival website.

It takes about a year of planning and a lot of work to make Colorfest a success. Brown said that anyone who is willing to lend a helping hand is welcome to take part. Volunteers are needed for duties such as traffic control, setting up and cleaning up and stage construction. Those interested are urged to contact the chamber office or contact organizers through the Colorfest website.