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2010 MISS HAZELWOOD CONTESTANTS with their schools and sponsors are, left-right: Nikki Napolitano., Hazelwood West High School (Pueblo Nuevo Mexical Restaurant); Maddie Bollinger, Incarnate Word Academy (American National Baseball); Rachel Robin, Miss Hazelwood 2009; Jenni Schultz, Hazelwood West High School (McClain Chiropractic Inc.); and Chloe Martin, Hazelwood West High School (Green Dream Florist). Miss Hazelwood will be crowned at 10:30 on Sept. 11 at Howdershell Park.

“Going Green!” is the theme of this year’s Hazelwood Harvestfest, scheduled for Saturday, Sept.  11, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.  After the parade, a full day of fun activities is planned at Howdershell Park, located at 6800 Howdershell Rd., next to Hazelwood’s Firehouse #2.

The theme for this year’s Hazelwood Harvestfest is “Going Green!” According to Mayor Robinson of Hazelwood, “We selected this theme for the 2010 event because we wanted to encourage our residents to join together in doing their part to make our city a more green-friendly community.

:All of us make choices everyday that can either hurt or help the environment – in the cars we drive, the products we buy, as well as the way we use and dispose of them. If all of us do our part to recycle, reuse and reduce, we can make a difference in helping to improve the quality of life for future generations.”

Some of the ways Harvestfest organizers are promoting the “Going Green!” theme include having all the staff wear recycled tee shirts for the event.  They will also be giving away recycled bracelets to the first 300 kids who enter the park, and teaching youngsters how to make picture frames out of recyclable items in the children’s arts and crafts area.

In addition, the City of Hazelwood will have sign-up sheets at the City Services tent for residents interested in registering for a volunteer, ad hoc “Green Machine” committee and distribute public information literature on various ecological topics.

In an effort to reduce the amount of trash going to local landfills, Harvestfest organizers have formed a partnership with Veolia Environmental Services and Johnny on the Spot to provide food venders with compostable plates, forks, spoons, knives and cups. Veolia will also supply recycling and compost stations to help manage the waste stream more efficiently.

“Hazelwood will be one of the first municipalities in the St. Louis area to attempt this type of effort with the goal of reaching a diversion rate of 90 percent,” said Al Heinermann, Veolia’s Municipal Market Representative.

Parade

The parade is scheduled to begin at Hazelwood City Hall, 415 Elm Grove Lane, at 9 a.m.  The best viewing areas for the parade can be found along Town and Country, Holiday, Imperial and Village Square Drives.

Music will be performed by the John Ford Highland Pipe Band and the Hazelwood West High School “Marching Wildcats.”  After the parade ends, the John Ford Highland Pipe Band will roam around Howdershell Park and play mini-concerts for the festival attendees.

Miss Hazelwood Coronation

The Miss Hazelwood coronation ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. The reigning 2009 Miss Hazelwood Rachel Robin will crown the new Miss Hazelwood.  To qualify as a participant of the Miss Hazelwood pageant, contestants must be young women between the ages of 15 and 19, as well as residents of Hazelwood.  A $500 scholarship and other prizes will be awarded to the new queen.

Children’s Activities

The Children’s Activity Area will feature an inflatable Chaos Obstacle Course and a Giant Dual Slide for youngsters to climb on from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.  There will also be a Bounce House in the arts and crafts area where kids can put together picture frames with recyclable items from the St. Louis Teachers’ Van.

A Petting Zoo will be available from 10 a.m.-noon.  Magician Eldon Roark will take the stage after the Miss Hazelwood Coronation and dazzle the audience with his amazing illusions.  Free pony rides will be offered to kids from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Horseshoe Tournaments

Two tournaments will be held at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the horseshoe pits at Howdershell Park.  The format will involve random draw partnering.  Registration for both events will begin a half-hour early.  Admission is free and open to people of all ages.  Trophies will be awarded to the top finishers.

Bingo Sessions

The Hazelnuts will be sponsoring two Bingo sessions at noon and 2 p.m. at the Park Pavilion.  Anyone can play.  Gift cards, small household items and snacks will be given away as prizes.

Music Entertainment

St. Louis’ Premier Variety Dance Band, Spectrum, will kick things into overdrive with its explosive musical performance, beginning at 2 p.m.  In addition to being selected by local event and wedding planning professionals as the “Best Band in Missouri” by a national magazine two years in a row,  Spectrum recently acquired the accolades of receiving the 2010 Bride’s Choice Award.

The band’s repertoire includes everything from pop to swing, Motown to R&B, and Big Band to Classic ’50s/60s rock music.

All Day Activities

Some of the all day activities include a used book sale, sponsored by the Hazelwood Community Enrichment Commission.  This event allows people to browse through hundreds of donated books and purchase them at a discount price.  All proceeds generated from this event are used to purchase newspaper and magazine subscriptions for Hazelwood’s two recreation centers, to support the Commission’s “Reading Is Elementary Program” and to provide resources for the Garden Club.

An arts & craftss show will be ongoing on the north side of the park. Also, an area will be set up for local companies to promote their products and/or services, as well as for charity groups and non-profit organizations to raise money with game or food booths.

Faded or tattered American flags can be turned in at the VFW information table or at the City Services tent anytime during the day.  The collected flags will be given to the VFW for a proper disposal ceremony.

Spectrum  Variety Dance Band to Perform at 2 p.m.

St. Louis’ Premier Variety Dance Band, Spectrum, will kick things into overdrive with its explosive musical performance, beginning at 2 p.m.

In addition to being selected by local event and wedding planning professionals as the “Best Band in Missouri” by a national magazine two years in a row,  Spectrum recently received the 2010 Bride’s Choice Award.

The band’s repertoire includes everything from pop to swing, Motown to R&B, and Big Band to Classic 50s/60s rock music. It’s one of the most requested and entertaining professional bands in St. Louis for private parties.

Activity & Entertainment

The Hazelwood Harvest will provide day-long entertainment on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at Howdershell Park. All entertainment is free. Parking and shuttle service is available at White Birch Park.

9:00 – Parade “Going Green

10:00-John Ford Highland Pipe Band, Petting Zoo, Children’s Craft Area, Obstacle Course/Slide, St. Louis Teachers Recycle Center, Craft Van

10:30 & 1:30 – Horseshoe Tournaments

10:30 – Miss Hazelwood Coronation

11:00 and 12:15 – Home Run Derby (ages 7-12)

11:30 – Magician Eldon Roark

Noon & 2:00 – Free Bingo hosted by Hazelnuts

1:00 – Free Pony Rides

2:00 – Spectrum band

All Day – Used Book Sale, Arts & Crafts Show, Food, Game and Information Booths, Retired Flag Collection, The “Shoeman” shoe collection.

Drop Off Shoes at Harvestfest and Raise Funds for Water Projects in Poor Countries

People can reduce the clutter in their closets of used and new shoes they no longer wear by dropping them off at the Shoeman Water Projects booth at the Hazelwood Harfestfest event this Saturday, Sept. 11.

Reverend George “The Shoeman” Hutchings began this registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization as an Eagle Wings Ministries program with the purpose of alleviating as much human suffering as possible.

Shoeman Water Projects picks up donated used and new shoes year round from businesses, churches, schools, special events and shoe drives. Once collected, the shoes are given a second life [recycled] by selling them to exporters in Third World countries.

Funds generated from the export of shoes are used to purchase well drilling rigs, water purification systems and other supplies to help bring clean, fresh drinking water to those in need.

Over the past two years, Shoeman Water Projects has collected over 700,000 pairs of shoes enabling Hutchings to send four water drilling rigs to Kenya. He is also making preparations to send a water filtration system to the people of Haiti.

According to the World Health Organization, even before the devastating earthquake in Haiti, at least 45 percent of the Haitian population didn’t have access to safe drinking water and sufficient sanitation was unavailable to 83 percent of them.

Dirty water, unsanitary conditions and hygiene-related diseases account for more than 2.2 million preventable deaths annually. After the earthquake, clean water is harder to come by even for places like hospitals.

Hutchings’ Shoeman Water Projects team recently installed a water purification and power system, as well as provided health and hygiene education classes, for Haitians living in Port Au Prince. All of these were paid for by donated shoes.

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