Resting up for the World Record Attempt

Some people have a theory that they should sleep in excess before the Petanque Marathon, while others feel they should have a normal schedule and then slide into the marathon as-is.

My advice: no excessive caffeine or sugars to destablize bodily levels and result in a "sugar coma" crash.

Oh - and sunscreen, layered clothing, comfy shoes, socks to change, and a wide brimmed hat.

Final Festival Details Discussed!

Festival Chairperson, Mr. Steve Wolken (Standing in Red), meticulously refines the final plan of next week's Rochester Area Heritage Festival. Posters and flyers were handed out, recent press coverage from the gracious area reporters were read as different event leaders primarily enjoyed listening to each other and left the meeting knowing that the only task left is to watch all the area festival goers enjoy themselves next weekend! Congratulations are in order to all the volunteers shown here for their months of festidiuos planning! Please stop by on Memorial weekend and enjoy their efforts!

World Record Challenger Mike Reed Already Victorious

A Quick Visit to the Leader Dogs H.Q.

The Leader Dogs for the Blind has gone through some fairly extensive renovation in the last few years, and I was privy to a quick tour by our club's Leader Dog liason, Jane Porter. (and of course Flint!)

Mostly all of the dog's homes are new, and they "graduate" and move from quadrant to quadrant around the facility as their training progresses. This lucky guy is always watching guard to be sure these tropical fish are always at there post!

And eventually you see a few of the upper classmen walking the halls, but here you can see "Boots", 1 of 2 guard cats watching to be sure no one gets far from their handler.

Rochester EMS Comes to the Rescue!

As the record attempt date draws near, I had a chance to discuss some more things in detail with Rhonda of Rochester's EMS Team. She was quite enthusiastic and supportive of the team and said that no one will fall on her watch!

Energy to be the best!

Measuring for the Guinness World Record gets easier! (by May we hope that snow won't be in our picture! ;-) Full Throttle agrees to help provide our world-record setting team with the energy to be the best in the world! Team players have 24-hours-per-day fuel while Rochester Area Heritage Festival goers sample free cans of this great energy drink provided by Coca-Cola!

Piste Check!

I had a quick chance to pace out some courts on Friday afternoon to make sure we had sufficient room for our proposed piste layout just before our Michigan, Spring, Easter Weekend Snowfall! Yikes!

(The 5th highest season on record in Michigan for snowfall!)

But our courts were quite resilient given all of our recent melting, they were a bit muddy, but nothing that a few days of sun couldn't handle. It was quite inspiring to see where history's going to be made just a few weeks from now with the courts clearly marked...

So here the panorama lies with the record-breaking teams playing on the two courts off to the right on Courts #1 and #2 right next to home plate. By May, they'll be dry, dressed, and ready to go!

Lipuma's wants your help!

Tony, owner of the Detroit area's famous Lipuma's Coney Island is committed to donating prizes to support our contestants, but he wants to know what you want! Stop by his shop and tell him whether you want hot dogs, tacos or his delicious home made soups... tell him "computer genius" sent you! ;-)

Sponsors love the Heritage Festival & Petanque

Please visit our new festival partner, Elements! I had such a great time meeting with Bonnie and Shelly today! Their new store in downtown Rochester has the cutest European gifts and they enthusiastically agreed that they'd love to donate to our cause of setting a world record as well as helping Leader Dogs for the Blind during our weekend of contests -- start practicing to win their gift certificates, or stop by the store at 115 E. Fourth Street or online at Elements website.

Heritage Festival Meeting Focuses on Petanque

The clock begins to tick and final preparations are decided as public relations and publicity for the Rochester Area Heritage Festival and the Guinness Record attempt become the primary focus of last Saturday's festival meeting. Mr. Steve Wolken (Festial Chairperson) and Mary Howarth (Festival Board Member) are critical to the event's successful development!