Laurel Festival returns

WINSTED — The 76th annual Laurel Festival makes its triumphant return next weekend (June 11, 12 and 13), with a series of events capped off by a pageant and parade on Sunday, June 13.

This year’s festival will feature a number of new twists, including a new leader for the group in charge of the celebration. New Hartford native Lindsey Burrill, the 2004 Laurel Queen, is this year’s chairman of the Laurel City Commission and the director of operations for next weekend’s events.

Burrill said this week that she has added some surprises to the Laurel Festival, along with a new event the week before the festival. “This year is going to be a little different,†Burrill said. “We're putting a lot of effort into bringing back the community excitement and involvement that the festival originally had. We want it to be bigger and better than the last couple of years.â€

Part of that excitement comes in the form of a new event, a Laurel Festival kickoff at the studios of the Artists at Whiting Mills, where a space at 100 Whiting St. is being renamed the Laurel Room. Artists are holding a reception Friday, June 4, at 6 p.m. in honor of the Laurel Festival and to kick off an open studio weekend at the old brick factory building.

On Laurel Festival weekend, three main events will take place, beginning with a Sidewalk Café on Friday night at the Winsted Knights of Columbus Hall, followed by the Laurel Ball on Saturday night at the Crystal Peak banquet hall and the Laurel Parade Sunday afternoon on Main Street. The crowning of the 2010 Laurel Queen will take place immediately following the parade on the Rotary Stage in East End Park. Scholarships will be awarded to the Laurel Queen and two runners-up.

The Winsted Journal will feature all of this year’s Laurel Festival candidates in next week’s paper, with a complete schedule of events. For more information, visit laurelfestival.org.

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