(Clarion, IA) Clarion resident Dr. Richard Young and his wife Betty took a trip to Dubuque in 1978. During this, the couple noticed a gazebo they liked very much. Unknown to them, their visit would forever leave a mark on their hometown of Clarion. Feeling inspired after the trip and armed with only a postcard for inspiration, Young sketched construction plans for a gazebo. Young later shared the drawing with J.R (Dick) Ashpole, who shared with The Wright County Monitor in 2004, “I was amazed by the plans.”
Once Young had measurements, he built the gazebo, that currently sits in the south-east corner of the park it is named for, in his backyard wood shop. The Wright County Monitor reported in 2004 that over $5,000 was donated to complete the project. Ashpole did not want his friend’s hard work, 600 hours of it, to go unnoticed. He began brainstorming ways to welcome the structure.
On June 30, 1979 “A Day of Music” was born. Ashpole took over most of the planning for the day but notably was assisted by Mayor Bill Young, Rick Urness, The Andrews Family, and the El-Kahir Shrine Band. While Ashpole did organize the first celebration at Gazebo Park, all events after have been organized by a board made up of Clarion residents.
The celebration in the park prompted many restorations in Clarion. Dr. Young led one of the first projects, focused on the fountain in the park that was originally installed to hydrate passing horses. The original fountain sat on plaster footing. According to Young in 2004, “It was cast iron with gargoyles adorning it.” Once it was no longer operational, the fountain was turned into a flower garden. Young turned his sights to restoring the fountain, “as close to original as possible.”
Melvene Draheim, a notable historian and journalist during his time, gave money for a new fountain. It came from Connecticut where they used a special granite mixture to form it. A new water, sewer, and sprinkler system was installed in the early 1980s.
In 2004 Ashpole shared that he wasn’t much thrilled with the name change from “A Day of Music” to “Festival in the Park”. It is unclear as to why the event underwent the name change. Ashpole admitted the townsfolk had done a great job keeping the celebration alive. One could assume the founding fathers of “A Day of Music” could appreciate the evolution this yearly celebration in Clarion has undergone; especially upon considering the work the Festival board has done to keep the tradition from losing momentum.
Sam Stumpf, Director of The Clarion Development Alliance, shared with The Wright County Monitor that she and the board knew the event needed to be “shaken up”. “The last ten years [the event] had gotten smaller,” Stumpf shared.
According to Stumpf people who grew up in Clarion would come back for Festival in the Park but have stopped in recent years. The board, composed of CDS Director Stumpf, Whitney Dahlgren, Rachel and Nick Barrett, Macoy Sebert, Paige Hill, Julie Schmidt, and Mikayla Walker, wanted to create a new spark around the event. The group didn’t want to limit themself to Gazebo Park either.
“That is why it was rebranded to ‘Festival’,” an enthusiastic Stumpf shared with The Wright County Monitor. Their goal was to make the event bigger and bring people onto Clarion’s Main Street to see all Clarion has to offer.
As always, Festival will be held the second weekend in June. This year residents of all ages, backgrounds, and incomes and out-of-towners can look forward to an entire weekend of events.
