The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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May 14, 2009

Beach party to kick off Boomtown festival

From staff reports

news@joplinglobe.com

Organizers of Boomtown Days say it’s time to rev up those good vibrations.

The Kahuna Beach Party featuring beach music and contests will kick off this year’s three-day festival planned for June 11-13 at Landreth Park.

In addition to the beach party, the entertainment lineup will include a Battle of the Bands contest, a concert by Kansas kicked off with fireworks, helicopter rides and tethered hot-air balloon rides in the Re/Max balloon, a car and motorcycle show, kids carnival, and a half marathon and kids’ run.

Event promoters staged a rally Thursday at the park to announce plans for the activities.

The Kahuna Beach Party planned for the first night is new to the festival. The Kahuna Beach Party is a band that performs beach music, and there also will be contests such as weight lifting, best tan and simulated surfboard riding.

The children’s area once again will offer carnival rides, a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting, a balloon artist, caricature artist and art activities, all capped by the appearance Saturday afternoon of Marvel Comics character Wolverine.

A children’s pageant to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network called “Miss Miracle and Miracle Man” will be staged at the festival.

Return events include the car, truck and motorcycle show, and vendor booths.

A “Taste of the World” food court will have 25 vendors offering foods from barbecued ribs to jambalaya, spanakopita and sushi in addition to traditional festival foods like funnel cakes and corn dogs. A beer garden also will be open each night of the festival.

The 10K Run held in past years has been replaced by a half marathon, 5K, and kids’ run. The runs will start at 7 a.m. Saturday, June 13, at Memorial Hall, 212 W. Eighth St.

Runners from seven states have already entered the half marathon.

Nationally recognized speakers Bart Yasso and Sarah Reinertsen are scheduled to speak at a pre-race banquet on Friday, June 12, at Memorial Hall. Tickets for that event will go on sale Monday at the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce and all Joplin Arvest Bank locations.

Yasso is the inventor of the Yasso 800 marathon training schedule, a member of the Running USA Hall of Champions and chief running officer for Runner's World magazine. He is one of the few people to have completed races on all seven continents from the Antarctica marathon to the Mount Kilimanjaro marathon. In 1987, Yasso won the U.S. National Biathlon Long Course Championship and won the Smoky Mountain Marathon in 1998.

Reinertsen, 30, missing a leg since age seven, became the first female with a prosthetic leg to complete the Hawaii Ironman triathlon — a one-day event that involves a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run. She was voted as one of Runners World Magazine’s 2004 Heroes of Running and also was recently a participant in the CBS television series “The Amazing Race.”

Again this year most events on the festival grounds are free with admission by a “Boomer Button.” Boomer is the groundhog mascot of the event. The buttons this year are $10 each, and will be good for all three days of the festival. Wristbands for one-day admission are $5. VIP admission with parking and reserved seating is $25. The buttons and wristbands will soon go on sale at area Wal-Mart stores.



More details

Details on the various events can be found on www.boomtowndays.com, www.boomtowndaysrun.com, www.kahunabeachparty.com and www.kansasband.com

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