Hazelwood’s 2011 Harvestfest Salutes Dogs and Offered Plenty of Family Fun

Event organizers were very pleased with the turnout for this year’s Hazelwood Harvestfest at Howdershell Park, which featured the theme of “Tribute to Man’s Best Friend.” Despite the threat of rain, hundreds of residents and visitors from outside the Hazelwood area not only showed up to watch the parade, but made their way to the park to enjoy a full day of activities.

The festivities began with a parade that made its way from City Hall to Howdershell Park.  Five cash prizes were awarded to the following organizations for coming up with the best designs for their float and/or vehicle entry:  1) Tiny Tots, $150; 2) Cadette Rhythmettes $100; 3) La Petite Academy, $75; 4) LA Dance Center, $50; and 5) Valley Industries Workshop, $25.  Other parade participants included members of the Hazelwood City Council, reigning 2010 Miss Hazelwood Nikki Napolitano and the 2011 Queen Candidates, Twirl Girlz of St. Louis, MO, Cub Scouts of Pack 739 from Russell Elementary School, Boy Scout Troop 739, and the City of Florissant’s Valley of the Flowers Queen Candidates along with Mayor Tom Schneider.  In addition, the Hazelwood West High School Marching Wildcats and the John Ford Highland Pipe Band played “live” music to keep the crowds of spectators entertained.

Purina Incredible Dog Team

The main attraction of this year’s Hazelwood Harvestfest was the Purina Incredible Dog Team, which gave four performances throughout the day.  Tony and Sarah Hoard of Indianapolis, IN, were the dog trainers who brought six of their incredible dogs with them.  The dogs on their team are in peak condition and perform amazing acrobatic flying disc routines all across the country.

Rockin Rory, a 9-year-old Australian Shepard, is the most well-known of the six dogs.  In addition to making the Top 20 on NBC-TV’s “America’s Got Talent,” Rory is a 2-time Skyhoundz World Champion, 2006 IDDHA Freestyle World Champion and 2007 USDDN National Champion.  He is a mind-boggling jumper and a true air dog that always seems to land on his feet.

Hoard calls Elektra Blu the “Diva” of his group.  She is a 3-year-old Australian Shepard with a beautiful white and black-spotted coat with ice blue-colored eyes.  Her accolades include performing for the Indianapolis Symphony for a month, performing for the Baltimore Symphony for a month, and making cameo appearances on several TV shows, including the “FOX 2 News in the Morning” program on the day of Harvestfest.  Not only can she fly over Hoard and catch a Frisbee, but she demonstrated her dance moves on two hind legs at one of the shows.

Elektra Blu shows off her dance moves and starts groovin’ to the music.

The other dogs that performed were Zaniee “J”, a 6-year-old Australian Shepard; Q-TEE Pup, an energetic Australian Shepard that recently finished as a top finisher in an international competition; and Sprocket Rocket, the newest addition that came out of rescue.  He is a mix of Border Collie/Australian Cattle Dog.

Miss Hazelwood Coronation

At 10:30 a.m., the reigning 2010 Miss Hazelwood Nikki Napolitano began hosting this year’s coronation ceremony which featured these five Queen candidates for 2011:  Lindsay Durand, sophomore, Visitation Academy (Sponsor: L.A. Dance Center); Kelsey Lewis, freshman, Hazelwood West High School (Sponsor: El Coco Loco); Samantha Rieke, junior, Hazelwood West High School (Sponsor: Pueblo Nuevo); and Danielle Sutherland, senior, Hazelwood West High School (Sponsor: McClain Chiropractic).

Samantha Rice Crowned

Miss Hazelwood

The atmosphere of suspense was finally broken when Samantha Rieke was announced as the new 2011 Miss Hazelwood.  Rieke plays varsity lacrosse and junior varsity volleyball.  She also spends her time as a children’s camp counselor, tutoring students from Hazelwood West Middle School, and working as a teacher’s aid at Cold Water Elementary School during the summer.  Her sponsor is Pueblo Nuevo.  In addition, Rieke’s stepfather, Michael Dodson, was her escort for the ceremony.

Children’s Activities

The 2011 Hazelwood Harvestfest offered something for every age, every interest.  For the kids, two Jurrasic Zoo Play Areas were set up with gigantic inflatable dinosaurs hovering over them where they could bounce around and go through an obstacle course before going down a slide.  Other children’s activities included a petting zoo, free pony rides, and a Home Run Derby.  There was even an arts and crafts area where they received a white autograph dog to color or decorate.

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