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BEAUMONT,
Calif. -- Ronnie
Milsap was originally scheduled to headline the 2012 Beaumont
Cherry Festival. However, he canceled due to illness. Festival
organizers wanted a national artist to play on Sunday. They asked
Eddie Money to come to the rescue and replace Milsap on a short,
18-hour notice. It was an easy decision for Money because he lives
in Westlake Village, Calif. and two of his band members, John
Nelson and Chris Solberg, are also from the Golden State. Some
fans still showed up on Sunday with their Ronnie Milsap t-shirts
and vinyl records thinking he was going to perform, even though
signs stated otherwise.
"I've
been coming for at least 20 years," said Patrick Walling
from Beaumont, Calif. "By far, the food is my favorite part.
Two thumbs up--it's the main reason we come. They've got a wide
variety and it's real good. I just had a bacon-wrapped hot dog
with grilled onions and peppers. That was really good. I'd recommend
that. I think the price to get in is real fair."
Money
took the stage on Sunday at around 5:30 p.m. No one seemed to
mind that he was 30 minutes late because he showed up on such
short notice. Money performed all of his hit singles including
"Take Me Home Tonight," "Walk on Water" and
"Peace in Our Time." His patriotic song "One More
Soldier" really got the crowd moving.
"It
is my second time here," said West Covina, Calif. resident
Manuel Subia. "It's pretty fun, I like it. They took out
a lot of rides, that's pretty much it. Nothing really important,
that's all. I like everything--it's fun being here. Five dollars
to get in is OK I guess. Most people will spend a lot of money
just to get here and the rides is $30."
Several
attendees said were more vendor and art booths this year when
compared to last year.
"It
is my third time here," said Alexandria Coriz of Beaumont,
Calif. "It's fun, there's a lot of rides. There's more tents,
more stores and stuff. Everything is fun. The price to get in
is good, but the rides and the rides are pretty expensive. Yeah,
the food and the drinks are good."
The 94th
Annual Beaumont Cherry Festival celebrated the city's 100th anniversary.
The festival started when the small southern California town was
only six years old.
"For
me, I've been here probably 15 years," said Beaumont, Calif.
resident Leah Sardy. "Yeah, I like the music and the rides,
mainly. It's pretty much the same as every year. They have new
rides. They took out some of the rides like the Ring of Fire.
Bring it back! Three bucks today and five dollars every other
day is not bad to get in. Everyone can afford that. I like anything
without meat. I love my family, especially my dad."
Many festival
goers said some of their favorite carnival rides were missing
this year. All-day ride wristbands were $20 on Thursday and $25
on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"I've
been coming for like seven years," said Brock Gandy, another
attendee from Beaumont, Calif. "I'm a rides guy myself--I
like rides. It's a little bit smaller, actually and they got rid
of my favorite ride, which I'm kind of sad about. It was called
the Fireball. That was my favorite one and they got rid of it.
Cherries are my favorite so this place is like awesome. The cherry
lemonade is actually really good too. I haven't actually had the
cherry pie, but the funnel cake with cherries on it is the bomb."
Cherries
were everywhere at the festival in Beaumont's Stewart Park. Beaumont
High School cheerleaders passed out free samples of cherries in
front of their booth. In addition, they sold bags of cherries,
cherry pie and cherry lemonade. There was even cherry-flavored
kettle corn for sale.
"This
is my first time," said La Quinta, Calif. resident Raymond
Leon. "I like all of the food that there is and just everyone
walking around with different kinds of food. The price to get
in here is cheap. For the price, it's good. We just bought a water
over here for $3, but they sell them for like a dollar over here.
You just have to look around, but they have good prices on the
food. I bought a cup of cherries to support Beaumont cheer."
This year's
parade took place on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Melinda Martinez was
named this year's Miss Beaumont. Her runner-ups included Tanya
Rakestraw (first), Shelby Waldron (second) and Johanna Maldonado
(third).
"I've
came here ever since I was little," said Kristine Carlson
of Cherry Valley, Calif. "My favorite part is seeing the
weird, crazy people on the rides. I like the Zipper even though
I'm scared of it, the ride over here. I think it's gotten a little
smaller, but it still has the booths here. It's very reasonable
to get in--it's only three dollars, come on. The food and the
drink prices are a little expensive."
For
more information about the Beaumont Cherry Festival, visit www.beaumontcherryfestival.org.
Related
Story: PREVIEW:
Ronnie Milsap to headline 94th Annual Beaumont Cherry Festival
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Miss Beaumont Melinda Martinez and her runner-ups Tanya
Rakestraw (first), Shelby Waldron (second) and Johanna Maldonado
(third).
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Eddie
Money replaced Ronnie Milsap who canceled due to illness.
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Goldrush
is a local country music band from Los Angeles.
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Attendees
watching Goldrush perform on Sunday afternoon.
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
They can also be seen on Thursday nights at Fantasy Springs Casino
in Indio, Calif.
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