Yep, it's that time of year again - time for my annual Old Drum Festival letter. Remember, the Greater Warrensburg Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (GWACC&VC) folded the fading fest by canceling the 2000 version. Now, I'd like to again make my simple suggestions for securing a successful event.

I was downtown last Saturday for the classic car show and Main Street bump-out ribbon cutting. There was a good crowd despite the badly-needed rain. Both sides of the street were lined with cars and there was an atmosphere that something was going on. We could hear an emergency run going down Washington Street, so it's obvious the blockage of Holden Street wasn't a problem for those folks.

In November 1999 and again in August 2001 I offered some ideas to make a local festival a real destination. I suggested making everything 'doggy' - from music to food to carnival prizes to floppy ears on the beauty queens' crowns. In addition to a 'putting on the dog' fashion promenade with poodle skirts and Senator Vest impersonators, doggie song karaoke contests, Lassie-calling, 'wiener relays' and a doggerel contest, I mentioned activities for the real dogs such as a standard dog show, a poker-playing dog costume show, working dog demonstrations, etc.

Here's some new ideas to add to those provided before. Have a dog biscuit bake-off, a dog howling contest, and chihuahua races. Perhaps a poodle-skirting contest, when girls in poodle skirts dress their dogs to match. Instead of a ring-toss game, a dog-toy toss? A contest to see who can make the highest stack of dog biscuits? A charity poker game with players dressed like the infamous dogs? A dog art show (art about dogs or by dogs, or maybe both)?

There are so many things we can do - the previous letters are posted at Gadfly 101. Let the billboards read 'Warrensburg - Gone to the Dogs' - we'll draw crowds and have a great time!

The Gadfly is a series of letters offering commentary on local issues and published in the Warrensburg Gazette.