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2009 Labadie Pig Gig Adds the Silver Lake Ski Club & Seven Mary Three to Ambitious Roster of Activities August 6-9th
by Robert E. Martin The 2009 Labadie Pig Gig is assuredly one of summer’s festival highlights. Presented by State Farm this year’s festivities are slated for August 6-9th and apart from evolving into one of the premier national Rib Championship Cook-offs with family entertainment and nightly concerts, this fundraiser presented by Doreable Entertainment benefits numerous local charities and organizations, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bay County. In terms of performing entertainment, this year’s roster includes The System: Bob Seger Tribute Band on Thursday, August 6th; rockers Seven Mary Three, Days of the New, and Sponge on Friday, August 7th; singer/songwriter Darryl Worley on Saturday, August 8th; and incomparable music of the legendary Mitch Ryder on Sunday, August 9th. One of the new & notable events at the 2009 Labadie Pig Gig is an incredible performance of water-based ballet & acrobatics with The Silver Lake Ski Club, which has competed at national tournaments many times throughout its history, placing as high as 3rd in 1983. Only 14 teams are able to compete at Nationals and the SLSC aims to be one of them. The SLSC has dominated the Michigan State Show Ski Tournament, winning the title 18 out of 22 years that the tournament has been held. Members become experienced with disciplines that include barefoot skiing, jumping, climb pyramids, ski doubles, swivel skiing, and wakeboarding.
“We accept anyone who shows interest in our club and there are many positions to fill that do not include skiing, so everyone is welcome,” notes Hawkins. “It is the participation of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ personnel that keeps us all skiing and keeps the club moving forward.” The Silver Lake Ski Club practices three times each week and a free show every Tuesday at 6:30 PM at Silver Lake Park throughout the summer. When asked what the most challenging component of assembling such an acrobatic type of ski team together, Hawkins points to the details involved with getting a complete show organized. “We need to set a one-hour time frame that is allotted for the time we get in competition.” The Club currently competes in three competitions including Nationals and perform at as many paid shows as they get into throughout the summer months. With currently sixty members involved they are conscious of attempting to grow that number for next season. “No qualifications are needed, as we will teach people how to become a part of a show ski team, including how to become a certified boat driver or a safety director,” adds Hawkins. “There are many positions to fill on a team such as ours.” The Silver Lake Ski Club is a non-profit organization and a very family-oriented club. “We participate in fundraising events throughout the year to support ourselves and have a group of community sponsors, without who’s support we could not do the things we love to do. We are proud to participate in an event as worthy as the Labadie Pig Gig.” • On musical fronts, last week the Review caught up with Casey Daniel from Seven Mary Three about what the group has been up to in recent months. Having released their much talked about and long out of print debut 1994 CD, Churn, this past December, the album documents the earliest days of the band and includes original versions of Cumbersome and Waters Edge.
When asked the most difficult component of keeping a group like 7M3 viable and cutting-edge, Casey reflects how “Technology has changed the whole game. It used to be you needed major terrestrial radio play to be a success, but that model is changing. In this day and age, the challenge is to stay on top of all the electronic avenues that people are using to connect with bands, and stay technologically relevant so the fans can easily find you. The music end is what it is, as we tend to avoid following trends, especially ones that will date or homogenize the songs.” In terms of tracking the bands’ evolution, Casey says that “The focus of our band has always been on the songs. I feel the quality of the parts we can add, as evolving musicians, has increased over the years and has really helped deliver the emotion that the songs are conveying.” In addition to professional and celebrity Rib competitions, a complete itinerary of the 2009 Labadie Pig Gig can be found online at www.piggig.com. Hours are Thursday, August 6th from 4 – 11 PM; Friday, August 7th from noon to midnight, with the Celebrity Rib Cook-off taking place from noon to 1 PM with Free Admission to the voting public; and Saturday, August 8th from 11 AM – Midnight. The final day on Sunday will run from 11 AM – 8 PM. Tickets are $5.00 in advance and $10.00 at the gate.
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The
Silver Lake Ski Club started back in the 1960s ad a three-event
club, gradually evolving into a ‘Show’ Ski Club,” notes President
Kevin Hawkins. A huge component of the Club over the years has been
the Nichols’ family, which currently has its third generation of members
skiing with the unit.
“In
the beginning of 2008 we put out Day & Night Driving, our 6th
major release and have been out spot touring in support of the record.
We also have a live record in the can and ready for a fall release.”