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The Wailers, Pat McGee to Headline Annual Hometown Holidays Festival
Concerts, Taste of Rockville, Going Green Expo, Memorial Day Parade Highlight City Event
ROCKVILLE, Md., May 4, 2009 - The 21st annual Hometown Holidays celebration kicks off Memorial Day weekend and will feature The Wailers, the reggae-backing band of Bob Marley, on Sunday and Pat McGee on Saturday.
The annual three-day festival, being held May 23-25 in Rockville Town Center, features dozens of entertainers performing on seven stages, children's rides, teen activities, VisArts Fine Arts Festival, an environmental expo and the Taste of Rockville.
Rockville's downtown becomes the Memorial Day weekend destination with a wide variety of musical entertainment throughout the day. The festival also features the Taste of Rockville, which celebrates the diversity and international culture and tastes from around the city. Most festivities are free with the exception of children's and teens rides.
Can't Hang, a reggae rock band from Baltimore, will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday, followed by The Wailers. On Saturday, Sharon Little, a soulful bluesy singer, will perform at 7 p.m., followed by Pat McGee.
In addition to the activities set for 1-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the festival culminates with a Memorial Day celebration, including a performance from the Rockville Concert Band and Chorus, the 65th annual parade and a ceremony that remembers and honors those who died serving their country. Concert performances are set for 9 a.m., followed by the ceremony at 9:30 a.m. and parade at 10:30 a.m.
Pfc. Thomas D. Murphy, U.S. Army Infantry, Vietnam 1969-70, will serve as the parade grand marshal and Brian van de Graaff, the morning weather forecaster forGood Morning Washington, ABC7 News, will serve as emcee.
For the first time in the event's 21-year history, a poster competition was held. Stephanie Laurila, 18, a senior at The Excelsior Academy who will study art illustration at Montgomery College in the fall, won the competition. Her poster will be displayed throughout the city.
More than 60,000 people descend on Rockville's downtown each Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the kick off to summer with plenty of food, music and fun.
To learn more about Hometown Holidays, including information on parking and what to bring, read the May/June edition of Rockville Reports with its special insert or visit www.rockvillemd/ events/hth/index.html.
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