Posted on 04/23/2003 8:44:52 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A bountiful harvest of poppies popped out of the ground this year, making for a spectacular, colorful carpet of blossoms - a prelude of sorts to this weekend's 12th annual California Poppy Festival at Lancaster City Park.
The two-day outdoor festival will feature an assortment of musical acts and special attractions, including the Celtic Market Square, an expanded version of last year's popular Celtic Corner.
The Celtic Market Square will feature sheepdog demonstrations by dog trainers Ted and Janna Ondrak of Drummond Ranch; roaming, kilted bagpipers; a Celtic harpist; and an arts and crafts market with vendors garbed in traditional Celtic attire.
Members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a nonprofit educational society dedicated to researching and re-creating the Middle Ages, also will engage in fencing tournaments and demonstrate period arts and sciences from before 1600, including spinning, dyeing, weaving, blade-smithing and arrow-making.
The festival's musical acts include smooth jazz, rock, Celtic, folk, pop, Hispanic and country music artists scheduled to perform on the festival's four stages.
This year's headline acts are Firefall and the Prodigals on Saturday and Poncho Sanchez and Spyro Gyro on Sunday. Valley musician Herbie Kae and his jazz group also are scheduled to perform on Sunday.
More than 200 fine arts and arts and crafts vendors, 30 food and beverage vendors and a flower, garden and farmers' market will be included.
The Poppy Festival will include a rain forest with exotic animals, insects and plant life, sponsored by The Boeing Co., one of nine major event sponsors.
Other attractions are children's activities, interactive displays, a 25-foot-long Mississippi riverboat puppet show; wildflower artwork; aviation and aerospace exhibits; a flower and farmers market; an antique and new car show and historical museum displays.
According to the National Weather Service, as of Tuesday this weekend's weather is expected to be mostly cloudy with highs in the upper 50s and 60s Saturday and highs in the 60s Sunday.
"I think there's just a lot of things that will lead to a successful event this year," said Lyle Norton, Lancaster's Parks, Recreation and Arts director. The city has received numerous telephone calls and e-mails about the festival, particularly the musical acts, Norton added.
The 13th annual California Poppy Festival is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Lancaster City Park, 43011 10th St. West. Admission is $6 for ages 13 to 61, $3 for children ages 2 to 6 and seniors 62 and older. Children 5 and under are free.
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