Americana #2 Cuba Fest, Chili, a Trolley, and more

The Boy Scouts and their flag raising ceremony was accompanied by the Cuba High School Band's patriotic music.

Americana expresses the heart and soul of our country and its cultures. Small town festivals display Americana on many levels, and Cuba Mo’s 2010 Cuba Fest is no exception. The two day Cuba Fest displayed our likes, our traditions, and our love of fun with the whole family including our pets participating. The Tri-C organization once more organized another great event. Darlene Cape’s variety show at the Methodist Church, and the art show/music at the Country Club were added attractions this year.

Most of the photos below are from Viva Cuba‘s events, but we included a few random shots as well. We’re sorry we can’t give comptlete coverage because of our involvement in our own activities, but the Cuba Free Press included some photos in this week’s paper.

We love our chili in the fall. This year's chili making car guys served up chili for the annual event.

Gary Richards of Cuba Auto Parts walked off with the Master Chili Chef silver ladle at the end of Viva Cuba’s Chili-Cook Off. With his spicy concoction of chili, Richards beat out the other contestants in this year’s Nuts-n-Bolts chili competition.

Other contestants were John Schwab, O’Reilly Auto Parts; the two Tim Ringeisens of Tim’s Auto Service & Sales; Tim Blessing of Midwest Petroleum; Jim Montgomery of Jim Montgomery’s Body and Paint; and David McLain of McLain’s Automotive Machine Shop.

The Viva Cuba Trolley Tour of the murals is a popular Saturday event at Cuba Fest. Here the trolley pulls onto Route 66.

The Saturday Trolley Tour is a pupular event on Saturday. The colorful 1904-style trolley makes a hit with locals and visitor, young and old. Even an occasional pet makes the tour. The trolley drives by each of Viva Cuba’s murals while a Viva Cuba member narrates the history behind the murals. Riders find out the stories behind Harry Truman, Bette Davis, and Amelia Earhart visiting Cuba. This year, there were also a couple of mural tours on Sunday.

Even a few well behaved pets enjoy the trolley tour.

Since there are three dogs in Viva Cuba’s public art, the dogs find something of interest in the tour.

The sock monkeys managed to hitch a ride on the mural tour. The driver Esther enjoyed their company.

The Methoidists whipped up a lot of turkey dinners and sloppy joes at Cuba Fest.

The Crawford County History Museum drew a lot of visitors during Cuba Fest. It was good to see a lot of young people enjoying the exhibits.

The Veterans Memorial drew respectful contemplation from some.

To understand the significance of the Veterans Memorial read “Two Brothers Spark Remembrance of Cuba, MO veterans.”

The Cuba High School drill team and band brought out the crowd.

The Taste of Cuba booths were popular as were the outside vendors.

Inside Recklein arts and crafts ruled.

Saturday night a new Cuba Fest event was a Colin Shaw & Matt Isbell Art Show at Cuba Lakes Golf Club. Myles Shaw played his acoustic guitar at the event. Here Colin and Matt pose with Camille Ogden, their high school art teacher.

Ozark Ed's handcrafted lures were available.

Miss Lisa's dancers brought their crowd with them.

These budding designers used innovative materials for the Wacky Fashion Show.

The Recklein Commons area came alive for the annual Cuba Fest. This is only a small sampling. When William Recklein donated this area to the city, he wanted it to be used for civic events. That has certainly proved to be the case. To read how the Recklein Commons area came about, read “Recklein Commons creates an area of community spirit in Cuba, MO.”