“When you’re hidin’ from the night;
Nothin’ you do seems to turn out right,
Desperation is in your bone,
You cry for help but there’s no one home.

In the dark again, I tell you friend
The light’s gonna shine on you, yes it is.”

It is time once again for my yearly report on the events of our Parkinson’s weekend and our annual fundraiser, Shake, Rattle & Roll: an ice cream social forParkinson’s Disease. After months of planning, it was finally Friday, September 28th and it was time to see if all those plans were going to work! Gary “g-birdboy” Boyd & James “tuneshaker4u” Shrader were the first to arrive. I took advantage of the fact that James had a truck and we left for the airport to pick up my friend Paula Wittekind (paula w). We had to pick up my brand new electric wheelchair (a “Zchair), one that I can hopefully use without further damage to our home. Soon, almost everyone had arrived: Len & Joyce (Jazzy PA) Ferree, “Hobby” Jan & “Husband” Alan White,
Marion & Bob Licko and Carol “Caz” & Roger Post.
That first night, we were all very tired so we had dinner delivered to the hotel and only drank a little bit of my homemade Irish Cream. The next morning, everyone converged on my house for breakfast and to help get us ready for our ‘parkie picnic’ which started about 1:00 pm.
First we served lunch-hot dogs, deviled eggs, beans, homemade salsa & chips-all the regular picnic-type fare. Then we had time to listen to my good friend and stem cell researcher, Dr. Craig Cady speak. Everytime I hear him, he renews my hope for the future. Paula from the Parkinson’s Pipeline Project was next, followed by Marion Licko and then we had 2 drug reps who spoke and hung around all afternoon to interact and to answer any questions. Soon it was time for the music to start. Some of my very good friends over the years have always had a band called “Ready, Steady, Go” When I asked if they might like to play for us in my backyard, they didn’t hesitate. They play lots of Beatles and other British Invasion music and the crowd loved them, They had lots of fun with Chris“cinemearipper” Friggo & his girlfriend from Canada as it was his birthday.. We all drank champaigne & had birthday cake. I enjoyed myself so much that I almost forgot my last-minute errands.
This was an early night because we all had to be downtown Peoria to set up on Sunday morning.
Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful: sunny, breezy and no humidity. We loaded up a trailer, cars and trucks and all set off for the beautiful downtown riverfront where we had our work cut out for us. First the guys had to set up the awnings, tables & chairs. Then the decorating team took over to cover and skirt the tables, run black & red ribbon down the tables and place pots of silk tulips. Balloons were blown up in huge bunches and placed all over and especially on our walk route. We had workers signing up for their appointed jobs: kid’s carnival workers, kids stage workers, Bradley students to run the sno-cones & cotton candy machines, people to man the hospitality table, the id check-in and ticket sales, folks to set up tables for the tons of food that was donated for our volunteers and entertainers. We also had a food tent to get ready and the ice cream social to prepare. Lest I forget, we to have registration tables ready to hand out t-shirts and butterflies to those who pay $25.00 to do the walk, auction tables to be set w/ bidsheets and to display the 35 silent and the 7 live auction items. We also had soundmen all over the place, getting both stages ready for the speakers and the bands. Many hands make anything possible and before I knew it was time to gather the 250-300 folks who were going to make the walk.
State Representative David Leitch and I led the walkers and when he looked back and saw all the people following us, Davud was astounded.
I was thrilled and as we all gathered at the turn-around point, I started to get misty-eyed. Everyone got quiet as I told the legend of the butterfly & mentioned the names of Gina Reily and Danley Wilcox (she with the voice of an angel & he with the soul of a lion); two of our own lost this past year. After I finished speaking, Hannah Offat, a very talented artist, played her guitar and sang a positively soul-filled version of “The Wind Beneath My Wings..” After a brief moment of silence, we all released the 200 butterflies that we had ordered for the occasion. It was a lovely sight and there were lots of oooohhhs &aaaahhhs all around. So the large crowd walked back to our staging area. Then things really took off. Our newsanchorwoman from our NBC affiliate opened up the adult stage with mention of the many activities that were available and my friend Sharon started off the kid’s stage.
She told about the kid’s carnival which cost a quarter to play a game (such as a ring-toss) and if they won, the child received a sticker which could then be traded in for larger items with more stickers. The kids entertainment line-up had the Peoria Zoomobile do a hands-on demonstration of exotic animals, the Hair Co. Kids (a song & dance company), a magician, 2 clowns, and a storyteller. The kids loved it and kept it busy all afternoon. Meanwhile on the adult stage, things kicked off with the psychedelic/funk/fusion sounds of the Nickalogic Groove Project. Then we were treated to the electric, eclectic country sounds of Ken Carlyle & the Cadillac Cowboys featuring Kent “Doc” LeCouris on the harmonica & trumpet. They were followed by the Vanessa Davis Band from Chicago-a crowd pleasing, high energy mix of jazz and blues (and whose song “The Light is Gonna Shine” is quoted in this post), all topped off by the boogie-woogie southern flavored tunes of the Dave Chastain band-Dave is the reincarnation of both Stevie Ray & Jimi. In between bands, we heard from Dr, Craig, State Senator David Koehler, and State Rep’s David Leitch & Arron Schock. The Patricia Pavelka award for the outstanding person living with PD was awarded to my long-suffering and often complaintless husband Stan. It was a lovely day and I am looking for about $15,000 to hand out to local PD organizations. I thank you for your prayers and support.