Rita Duda new Rochesterfest chair

One of the most familiar voices and faces around Rochester will serve as general chair for Rochesterfest 2010.
The new person in charge is Rita Duda, the promotions director for Rochester television stations KTTC, Fox 47 and Signal Hills CW. She has been heard and seen on local commercials for the last 11years.

Rita joined Fox-47 when the station began operations in 1998 and became associated with KTTC when the two stations banded together in 2001 and then added promotions for Signal Hills CW to her duties. She did promotional work for Universal Ford in Rochester before getting into the television business.She is no stranger to Rochestefest. She has served on the City Celebration Board of directors since 2002 and has volunteered for several Rochestefest activities. She also helps produce and does TV commercials for the Fest.

 Rita, a Caledonia farm girl, and her husband Ed have lived in Rochester since 1983. Ed works as a career counsellor at the Work Force Center in Rochester. They met while attending St. Cloud State University, where Rita majored in speech and minored in theater and arts.
 
 Rita and Ed have four children, who were all involved in one sport or another that kept their parents on the move. The oldest is 30-year-old Joey, who is an accountant at the Smith-Schafer firm in Rochester. Their other children are Peter, 28, who works in the finance department at Mayo Clinic; Angela, 23, a student at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; and Jacob, 21, also a student at UW-La Crosse.  Jacob was a standout football and baseball player at Rochester Lourdes High School.

 “I feel real honored to be selected as chair for Rochestefest,” Rita said. “I’m looking forward to working with all the great people associated with the Fest.” Rita suceeds Kak and Dewey Johnson, who served as co-chairs for Rochesterfest 2009.

Blair Harrington wins button design contest

 Blair Harrington had to be convinced by his wife Sue to enter the Rochesterfest 2010 button design contest.
 “Why enter, I never win anything,” he told her.
  Finally he gave in and lo and behold, his design was chosen to grace the 2010 button.
 The Rochesterfest Board of Directors selected his design from over more than 100 others that were submitted.
 It was the first time Harrington had entered the Rochestefest contest. But it wasn’t the first time he put his work out there for people to see. He is owner, illustrator and photographer for his own Rochester-based  business - NoBoxGraphics.com. The business is located at 1416 Ninth Ave. SE. Harrington has worked as a graphic artist for more than 25 years. His designs appear all over Rochester on everything from business cards to commercial signs to logos of all sorts.
 Harrington’s Rochesterfest design will appear on all buttons and advertising for Rochesterfest 2010. For his winning entry he receives $500 cash from Rochesterfest.

Hairball to headline live music lineup

No, this isn’t something your cat coughed up on the living room floor.
 This Hairball is a wildly popular Twin Cities band that will be featured at the Rochesterfest 2010 Saturday Night Street Dance on June 26. The band has performed thoughout the Rochester area and has drawn throngs of fans for its concerts. This will be its first appearance at Rochesterfest.
 Hairball is billed as the world's ultimate "80's Rock" impersonation act, recreating the good-time party atmosphere of the decade with unmatched authenticity. Hairball's unique dual frontman assault, featuring veteran vocalists Rockstar Bob and Kris Voxx, sets them apart from all other "80's" tributes. They cop the personas of the era's legendary frontmen while rapidly changing elaborate costumes, then complete their transformations with dead-on visual and vocal performances. They alternate their stage time, bringing new characters to the stage every 5 to 10 minutes. Hairball represents more than 20 of the "80's" biggest and most colorful rock 'n roll heroes, including Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Motley Crue.
 The addition of Hairball completes Rochesterfest’s lineup of nightly downtown musical acts.
  The music will start off with various groups performing at Teen Night on Monday, June 21. Then on Tuesday, June 22 it will be the Rochester Civic Music Band taking the stage.
  Marshall Star of Eau Claire WI will be the featured County Night band for the third straight year when they take the stage on Thursday, June 24.
 A band new to Rochesterfest will perform on Friday, June 25, after the Grand Parade. That’s when the Minneapolis-based Jonah and the Whales, who’ve been around for 20 years, will step into the spotlight. The Whales are one of the busiest bands in the Twin Cities market,  averaging more than 100 shows a year. They do cover music of artists ranging from Taylor Swift to Lady Gaga to Ozzie Osborne to Black Eyed Peas to Pussycat Dolls to Bowling For Soup.

Celebrity Game Night goes Hollywood

 Rochesterfest’s 2010 Celebrity Game Night will feature something old and something new.  The old is Hollywood Squares, a popular television game show that even the over 50 set remembers. That includes Celebrity Game Night chair Dennis Hanson whose boyhood hero was Paul Lynde. 
 The second new game to be featured is wait staff races, pitting waiter staffs from Rochester area restaurants competing against each other and against celebrities. The kids tried their hands at in last year’s Rochester Has Talent competition. Now we’ll find out if the adults can do as well. Celebrity Game Night is scheduled Tuesday,  June 22, on the downtown Rochesterfest stage. It promises to be a fun event.

Think to again sponsor parade

Rochesterfest is proud to announce that Think Bank will again be the major sponsor for the 2010 Rochesterfest Grand Parade scheduled on Friday, June 25. Think sponsored the parade last year for the first time.
  There will be one major change in the parade. The Jaycees will take over operation of the event for the first time. KTTC-TV is the media sponsor. Last year’s parade was one of Rochesterfest most well-attended ever, drawing an estimated 30.000 spectators.

There will be sports twist to Cemetery Walk

  There will be a sports twist to the 2010 Oakwood Cemetery Walk, which is sponsored by the History Center of Olmsted County and is held on June 19 in conjunction with Rochesterfest.
 Featured will be:
 Hester Crow Smith (1894 - 1966), a member of 1911-1912 Rochester High girls basketball team.
 Dr. Joe Janes (1909 - 1983),  who helped bring organized hockey to Rochester and  is one of the founders of the Rochester Mustangs.
 Carleton Kruse (1897 - 1977) and  Carleton Grassle (1898 - 1986), both members of the 1917 Rochester High state championship basketball team.
 Frank E. Williams (1860 - 1932), whose downtown building was willed to the City of Rochester in 1932 for the purpose of establishing a trust fund to provide playgrounds and playground equipment.  
 Arthur J. Osman (1893 - 1981), who in 1939 with J.R. Orcutt started O and O Sporting Goods Store, the largest exclusive sporting goods store in southern Minnesota.  Osman was also an organizer and manager of Rochester semi-professional baseball and hockey teams.

Rochesterfest on Twitter, Facebook

Now you can become a fan of Rochesterfest on Facebook and Twitter, interactive free social networking sites on the Internet.  To sign into Twitter go to http://twitter.com/RochesterFest
 The easiest way to sign on to Facebook is to google Rochesterfest Facebook and all the directions are there to access the site.  As of Jan. 19  690 persons had already signed up on Facebook.  The goal is to get 5,000. So sign up and get your friends to do the same.
 The sites are ideal for communicating with Rochesterfest through 2010 general chair Rita Duda or with fellow Rochesterfest Twitter or Facebook members.
 There is plenty of information about the Fest on the sites with more to come. For example, there’s a video clip of last year’s Dachshund Dash, a question asking what type of Saturday Night Street Dance music is preferred, photos of last year’s Fest and even a blurb supplied by beer chair Bob Brown about how much beer has been consumed at Rochesterfest in the last 14 years. You’ll have to go to Facebook to find out.
 This is just another way to get information about Rochesterfest out there.  Information about the Fest also continues to be available on the web at www.rochesterfest.com

Heins farm to host 2010 breakfast

Rochester Ag committee co-chair Harley Flathers has announced the 2010 Breakfast on the Farm, a Rochesterfest event, will be held at the Ron and Michelle Heins-owned Amber Rae Swiss Farm near Eyota. The 23rd annual country breakfast is scheduled on Saturday, June 26, between 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The farm is located in Olmsted County  ½ mi. north of Eyota on MN Hwy 42. The Heins operate the 475-acre farm and three times a day milk 180 head of registered brown swiss cows. The breakfast on the farm is sponsored by the Rochester Ag Committee and the Olmsted County Farm Bureau. Last year’s event attracted more than 3,000 people.

Here's deal you can't pass up

Enjoy is the theme for Rochesterfest 2010, so why not purchase Enjoy the City?  It’s a 64-page book with coupons galore for discounts at 81 businesses in the Rochester area.
 The businesses range from restaurants to car care centers to golf courses to rental car companies to Rochester sports teams. There are 50 restaurants alone that offer discounts or free meals.
 The book sells for $20 and could pay for itself many times over. The coupons are good until June 30, 2011, so there is plenty of time to cash in on the discounts.
 Rochesterfest is selling the books as a fund-raising project with all proceeds going to support the Fest. The books are being sold by Rochesterfest board members and are also available at the Rochesterfest office in Mayo Civic Center. The office can be contacted by calling 507-285-8769 or e-mailing carole.brown@rochesterfest.com

Honors Choir to present Oklahoma in 2010

The Honors Choir of Southeast Minnesota offered a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was held in conjunction with Rochesterfest 2009, was a big success. Organizers of the event reported that total attendance for four shows was 3,587 -- up from 2,055 in 2008  for Sound of Music -- and that net profit was $39,124.The event was held at Rochester’s Autumn Ridge Church for the first time. The cast and crew included about 135 children and adults from all over southeast Minnesota.

The Honors Choir of Southeast Minnesota will put on a production of Oklahoma as part of Rochesterfest 2010. It will be staged from June 24-27, again at Autumn Ridge Church.

Ice Cream Social huge success

The PossAbilities of Southern Minnesota Ice Cream Social, one of the most popular events of Rochesterfest, raised $6,800 in 2009. The money goes to support individuals with disabilities as active community participants.

The most popular feature of the Ice Cream Social is the ice cream eating contest for both kids and celebrities. Gabriella Pena was the 7-9 year old champion and Katelyn Goodman ate her way to the 10-12 year old title. Ted Schmidt of KTTC-TV successfully defended his title in the contest that featured local celebrities. Other celebrities who took part were Jeff Kiger of the Post-Bulletin, Dave Berg of 102.5 The Fox radio, Alex Morgan of Y-105 radio, Sarah Swistak of KAAL-TV and Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede.

The 2010 Ice Cream Social is scheduled Monday, June 21 at Rochester's Central Park.

Rochesterfest sponsor wins national award

The Gillette Group of Rochester has been named bottler of the year by Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages for 2008, it was recently announced. It’s the highest honor bestowed on Pepsi-Cola North America bottlers. Rochester Pepsi has been a major sponsor of Rochesterfest for more than a decade.

 “Gillette Rochester has proven itself a real winner year-in and year-out,” Pepsi North America CEO Hugh Johnson said as he presented the award to Gillette Rochester CEO Fred Truax during a ceremony in Los Angeles. “You only have to visit the Rochester area to see just what an impact this bottler has on its community,” Johnson added. “When you look at the numbers they’ve posted in large-format retailers, in convenience and gas stores and at foodservice you’re simply blown away.

Pepsi Cola North America presented Gillette Rochester with a $5,000 grant, which it will donate to the Shjon Podein Children’s Foundation of Rochester.

2009 results
Rochesterfest Triathlon

Olympic

1st - Sam Hauck, Omaha, Neb, 1:55.48

2nd - Curt Wood, Chaska, MN 1:56.44

3rd - Alex Hooke, Rochester, MN 1:59.01

Sprint

1st - Jesse Nelson, Red Wing, MN, 54:18

2nd - Chris Koch, Rochester, MN, 54:26

3rd - Mederic Hall, Rochester, MN, 58:03

Puzzle Contest

Winning team: Janet Helgren, Marcia Helgren, Sue Jenkins and Matt Jenkins

Million $ Golf Shoot-Out

Championship - Philip Valenti won $1,000 for closest to the pin at 10 feet 6 inches

Session Winners

Tuesday 1st Session:  Michael Mulcahey 1/2 inch

Tuesday, 2nd Session:  Leif Erickson, Hole-in-One

Wednesday, 1st Session:  Derek Clarey, 3 1/2 inches

Wednesday, 2nd Session:  Larry Oefstedahl, Hole-in-One

Thursday, 1st Session: Tracy Phelps, Hole-in-One, Philip Valenti, Hole-in-One

Thursday, 2nd Session:  Mark Boenish, Hole-in-One, Brian Lisovskis, Hole-in-One

Friday, 1st Session:  Rob Mounts 4 1/4 inches

Friday, 2nd Session:  Philip Valenti, Hole-in-One, Jeff Beck, Hole-in-one

Treasure Hunt
Winner Josiah Nagel - Found the treasure and won $500.00

Bicycle Winners
Kiwanis Parent Child Free Fair
Winners: Chase Larsen and Samantha Padmos

Parade High School Bands

Class A - 1st Place - Lake City, 2nd Place - Henry Sibley

Class AA - 1st Place - Winona Cotter. 2nd Place - Lutheran Vanguard. Overall Champion - Winona Cotter

Rochester's Strongest Man

The first Rochester's Strongest Man Contest proved to be a Clash of Titans where the winner was determined by 1 second on the last event.  On the hot 85-degree day, Carl Foemmel, a 295-pound ball of muscle from Marshfield, WI, dominated the 1st three events.  Carl carried a 235-pound sandbag, 250-pound sandbag Farmer's handles in each hand, and dragged a 560-pound sandbag anchor chain all 50-foot in 27.9 seconds to win the carry and drag medley. 

The 2nd event was the last man standing deadlift.  Alex DeMarco of Faribault, MN and Jeff Peterson of St. Paul, MN both finished with lifts of 820 lbs. but it was Carl Foemmel finishing 1st again with a lift of 870 lbs. 

The 3rd event was the overhead press medley.  Foemmel made quick work of 5 odd objects finishing 1st again. 

The 4th event called for the athletes to flip an 800lb. tire 7 times as fast as possible.  Jeff Peterson, a 220lb competitor with over 50 competitions under his belt, edged Carl in this event. 

In the 5th event, Jeff Peterson pulled a 16,000lb. truck arm over arm style 50 feet in 41.5 seconds capturing 1st in the event.  Foemmel finished a disappointing 4th in the event propelling Peterson into 1st place overall by a half point with one event to go. 

The last event was one of the strongman signature events:  the stones. Peterson and Foemmel were only a half point apart.  Foemmel lifted the 5 stones weighing 235lb., 265lb., 285lb., 310lb., and 340lb. to the 50" platform in a blistering 25.7 seconds.  Peterson followed with an inspired 24.4 second run to capture the title of Rochester's Strongest Man.

1st Place Jeff Peterson - St. Paul

2nd Place Carl Foemmel, Marshfield WI

3rd Place Paul Bayleat - PlymouthList of Winners – What they won: Ice Cream Certificates from Kemps
4th Place Joel Dierks - Voted Fan Favorite

Ice Cream Eating Contest
7-9 yr olds
1. Gabriella Pena

10-12 yr olds
1. Katelyn Goodman

Celebrities
1. Ted Schmidt KTTC
2. Jeff Kiger Post Bulletin
3. Dave Berg The Fox 102.5
4. Alex Morgan Y 105
5. Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede
6. Sarah Swistak KAAL

SPORTSMANSHIP WINNER

John Maynard, Ft. Atkinson, Wis.