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C

roakerfest turns 30 this year, and as has become tradition, the event named for a croaking fish will feature a parade, relay race, regatta, a Miss Croaker pageant, food and music.

The thirtieth anniversary design for Croakerfest t-shirts was developed by 16-year-old Robin Holde. As with many Croakerfest designs, it combines two of Oriental’s icons: the dragon and the croaker.

Croakerfest owes its existance to the Oriental Junior Woman’s Club, which in 1980, was trying to figure a way to raise money to give to various charities in town.

Oriental already celebrated the Fourth of July with a parade, food and dancing among other events. Working from that foundation, the Junior Women’s Club decided to make it a festival.

An early Croakerfest T-Shirt.

But what to call it? Linda Caroon was one of the members in 1980 and says they found that “everything else was already taken.” There couldn’t be, for example, a strawberry festival because that was happening elsewhere. Bayboro at that time had laid claim to a Potato Festival.

Since Oriental was a fishing community, Linda Caroon says they sought a fish name. But even there, there may have been slim pickings. One fish not already attached to a festival was the croaker.

A program from a Croakerfest in the early 1980’s offers a qualified tribute to the Croaker.

“I know croakers are not available this time of year,” Caroon says, noting that the grumbly fish don’t appear in local waters til “a little bit later” in the season. Despite the lack of a significant croaker harvest in early July, CroakerFest it became, and the croaker shared stage with the dragon as symbols of Oriental.

The first Croaker Festival in 1980 was a three day affair. There was a parade. And fireworks. And raft races. Thirty years later, the oddly-named festival has become tradition.

Programs from previous Croaker Festivals. These are part of an Oriental History Museum display celebrating 30 years of Croakerfest.

As for the Oriental Junior Woman’s Club, its members later became, Ladies of the Neuse, which for years has done the judging and handed out the honors in the Croaker Festival Parade. This year however, 10 of the original Junior Women’s Club/Ladies of the Neuse will be in the parade, as the grand marshals.

Sally Belangia, one of the original Oriental Junior Woman’s Club members who started Croakerfest in 1980. She and 9 others from the group will be grand marshals in this year’s parade. (The Sally replica will be on the First Citizens Bank float that Sally, the bank’s manager, usually rides in.)

The Croakerfest originators this year revived one part of the early festivals: fish hats. In the early days of the festival, the croakers, extending over both sides of the wearer’s head, were made of paper. In time canvas was used. But in recent years few of them were seen. That may be changing this year. The Ladies of the Neuse created a limited run of 42, says Sally Belangia, who was selling them at First Citizens Bank. The $20 per hat goes to charity. The other day they were down to only a half dozen.

A limited run of Croaker hats was selling out fast at First Citizens Bank.

While the Oriental Junior Woman’s Club started the Croakerfest, over time, others have taken on the operation. Candy Bohmert has been the Chief Croaker Organizer for most of the past decade. This year, Rich Wertin and Candy Bohmert are co-organizers of the event.

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Posted Tuesday June 29, 2010 by Melinda Penkava

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