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Once again, about 35 brave souls ventured forth to Bagby State Park in the nethermost wilds of southwest Georgia for the 4th biennial installment of the DSD’s unique Blackspot & Beetle Festival. All our new chemicals help keep the Beetles and Chili Thrips under control and Blackspot can be held at bay for a couple of days, so they could all sneak off for some fun and relaxation. While the Saturday night Cookoff competition had been the focus of the previous festivals, this year no one wanted to take on the challenge, so our planners came up with a finale that involved all the participants. John Tucker and Dan Mills, along with Geoff and Debbie Coolidge, the planners of the event as usual did a super job of putting together a truly fun weekend! John and Dan were in charge of site planning and also prepared their delicious barbecued Chicken, with roasted earcorn, as the entrée for Saturday night’s cookout dinner. Geoff and Debbie handled registration and planned the contests and programs. Everyone arrived Friday afternoon, picked up their registration materials and unique Blackspot and Beetle T-shirt and got settled in. Walt and Linda Reed, and the marathon golf duo of Jim Maxheimer and Nile Dixon had all arrived early and got in a round of golf on Friday, and Saturday. We all assembled at about 7:00 pm for dinner at the lodge. The menu featured a seafood buffet and most everyone got their “fried food fix” for the year. Some of the many repeat attendees were sporting their t-shirts from the previous years’ events at dinner. Following dinner many of us went to the “hospitality suite” to trade rose tales, survival stories about the 2007 B&B Festival, made plans for the Saturday night event and told jokes ‘til the wee hours. (Remember, we didn’t have to get up and spray in the morning!) After a leisurely breakfast, the attendees convened in the meeting room at 10:00 am for our requisite rose programs. Wayne Myers presented an entertaining and informative PowerPoint presentation on his and Lyndy’s trip to South Africa and their trip to Ludwig Tashner’s huge rose growing operation “Ludwig’s Roses”. Between the programs, Debbie explained the Saturday night contest that she had planned for us. All the attendees were divided into four teams and each team selected a song from a list and planned to do a Karaoke performance at the “Rosarians Got Talent?!” competition that evening. Geoff Coolidge then gave a useful and informative PowerPoint presentation, “Sailing Through Summer”, on how to make it through the summer with less stress on yourself and on your roses. As usual there was lively interaction from the group. When the morning session adjourned the contest teams conferred and were asked to declare their song and select props and costumes from stuff brought by Debbie and Geoff and Jim and Kay Harrell. Following the morning programs (for people who didn’t want to talk roses, we sure learned a lot) the activities moved to the picnic pavilion. This year we had the same large private pavilion away from all the public areas. David and Cindy Dale, winners of the coveted “Silver Spatula Award” at the 2007 Blackspot & Beetle Festival, provided lunch for the group. They served up delicious pulled pork from the Big Bad Wolf Saloon. Many great side dishes were brought by other attendees to fill out the meal. We were supposed to eat light so we’d have lots of room for dinner. But there were desserts. Oops! Oh, well! After lunch, Karaoke teams went back to the lodge at their assigned times to rehearse for their evening performances. Some of the attendees went back to the lodge to cool off or rest up until time for the evening’s festivities, while some others stayed on to help or watch John and Dan prepare their tasty Barbecue chicken for the evening meal. When everyone returned for dinner, they brought with them an array of wonderful potato dishes, various types of salads and slaws, and delicious desserts to complement John and Dan’s great barbecued chicken. Once things got organized, we settled in to serious eating and sampling all the various dishes. Just like the last B&B two years ago, a little summer squall loomed on the horizon with wind gusts that scattered paper plates, cups and napkins. The rain threat never materialized but hastened our dining time and when all had finished eating, we all gathered up our “stuff” and returned to the Lodge. It was then time for the “Rosarians Got Talent?!” Karaoke Extravaganza. This “highly professional” performance was produced by Debbie Coolidge and company. The afternoon practice sessions honed the four groups of contestants into disciplined troupes of performers worthy of any dysfunctional reality show. Their skills made it hard for our panel of celebrity judges, Jim “gong show” Maxheimer, Kitsy “Hey Paula” Mostellar, and Nile “Simon Scowl” Dixon, to decide on a winner.
Team 2 performed first, doing “Surfin’ USA”, surfing in on their ironing surfboards. Next Team 1 proved that things can get pretty ugly when you mess around with a “Pretty Woman” and that it’s very hard to see the words to sing when you’re laughing so hard you have tears in your eyes. Team 4 was not content to see what plastic surgery gone amok can do, turning Cher into a bearded lady with curly hair, they even wrote their own rose-related lyrics to “I got You Babe”! Team 3 was not to be outdone however, as they turned “Born to be Wild” into a lament for those past their prime called “Born to be Mild”! When the judges deliberation was over the winners were Team 2 doing Surfin’ USA! The surfer dudes and their babes won out by ending in time with their music. What fun! I don’t know if Rosarians got Talent, but they sure have got nerve or at least are good sports. After the entertainment was over, almost everyone went over to the “Hospitality Suite” for more casual conversation and rehashing of the evenings’ great performances. All in all, everyone seemed to have a really good time at B & B with lots of relaxation, rekindled friendships and a few new friends as well.
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