A4

By BRENDA MACMINN
For The Daily Gleaner

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HARVEY STATION - What are your plans for May 9, 2009?

Organizers of the Don Messer Centennial Celebration to be held in Harvey Station are ready to invite the world to their stage.

For the last 14 months, a group has been meeting every two weeks to plan a celebration to honour Tweedside's native son, Don Messer, on the anniversary of what would have been his 100th birthday.

Messer died in 1973, but his music lives on. Messer rose to fame for his fiddling skills, which took him to the No. 1 spot on CBC television in the 1960s.

Tony Bull, chairman of the steering committee, outlined at an open house held at Harvey High School recently the events planned not only for the May 9 celebration, but also for a week-long festival to be held Aug. 1 to 8 surrounding both New Brunswick Day weekend and the annual Harvey Community Days.

Bull said this is a "grass-roots" celebration that has caught on with not only local people and family jumping on the bandwagon, but also entertainers from Atlantic Canada and across the country who are acclaimed for their fiddling prowess.

"It is expected that the two-time Canadian fiddle champion will be here for the party to do a show on the life of Don Messer," said Bull.

He has also contacted two of Messer's daughters who are thrilled with the celebration and are making their own plans to come back to their father's birthplace.

During the May 9 event, there will be an invitational luncheon for Messer family descendents, members of Don Messer's Jubilee and dignitaries at the Tweedside Hall. During an afternoon concert, a full birthday celebration with cake and coffee will be hosted at the Harvey Memorial Community Center.

In the evening, a full concert and dance will complete the program for what will be declared by Mayor Winston Gamblin as Don Messer Day in Harvey Station. But it doesn't end there.

Since school is still in session during May - and families aren't travelling too far - the steering committee extended the party to include a summertime celebration in August.

"We are partnering with Harvey Community Days to have a week-long celebration in the community with workshops in fiddle making, fiddling and square dancing, contests, concerts and a book launch - a full week of fun and entertainment with antique car shows and jam sessions," said Bull.

"This open house is to tell you where we have arrived in plans for the event. We are seeking family and community input as well. With many people coming to visit our community, we need to plan food venues, accommodations and various other details to make this a great one-time event."

With the influx of visitors, hotels and parks in the Fredericton area will be tapped to assist the steering committee with accommodations. Residents of the community are also being asked to billet some people, offering bed and breakfast rooms or cottages for rent for the week and large fields to accommodate recreational vehicles.

Some funding for the event, said Bull, will come from the federal government through the Building Communities through Arts and Culture grants and through corporate sponsors.

The giant fiddle in the community, dedicated on June 17, 2000, stands as a testament to the man and his music in his native community. During the summer, many visitors stop by the fiddle to have their picture taken.

Hayes Messer of McAdam remembers his uncle fondly and recalls how there would be get-togethers and he would "play a few tunes'' when Messer came back to visit the Harvey area.

"It was exciting back in those days to hear him on the radio and then to see him on television," said Hayes Messer. "We could dance to his music, but you had to be quiet so everyone could hear."

Entertaining during the recent open house was Kathleen Gorey-McSorley of Fredericton, two-time winner of the Don Messer Memorial Class at the Harvey Music Festival in 2007 and 2008.

Bull and his steering committee are confident their many months of planning will culminate in an event of which the community can be proud.

"We have the support of the mayor and village council and the event will operate through the Harvey Improvement Association," said Bull.

Peter Pacey, director of the Calithumpians, a Fredericton-based group of performers, will be working on a performance about Messer when he was young.

Pacey is hoping it will be performed next summer on the Green and brought to Harvey Station during the celebration.

Although final plans are still being completed, a website has been set up with information about the event and the life of Messer. Check it out at www.donmesser100.ca.

Local author Johanna Bertin is working on a book about Messer to be launched during the celebration.

She is looking for anyone with anecdotes about the man and his music. She can be contacted through the website.

"There is a wonderful musical spirit that lives here in this community," said Bull. "What a great legacy this man has left. The response to this celebration is overwhelming."