Lorella Lumpkin, Sweetems, and Cloverdale's Fashion on Parade.

Lorella Lumpkin and her Masterpiece. The Dress of Many Colors

Hello Folks,
Cloverdale residents enjoy many festivals, fairs, bake sales, garage sales, and pig roasts because, as we all know, life in a small village can be boring at times. One highlight of the calendar is the Lord Mayor’s Annual Founder’s Day Barbecue and Turkey Shoot. We also have the spectacular Bingo Blowout sponsored by the Holy Order of the Sisters of Ever Increasing Hope at Saint Bartholomew's. Cloverdale's list of events goes on and on so I won’t bore you with, well boredom. Let me tell you about one event in debth.

Cloverdale's Fashion on Parade is the one event you can’t miss if you want to associate with those 'In the Pudding' as the locals say. Fashion on Parade is sponsored by Miss Turley’s Senior Home Economics Class at Cloverdale’s Comprehensive School. It is held in March every year bringing to an end Miss Turley's curriculum unit on color, fabric, sewing and design.

This year’s Fashion on Parade was held on Friday evening. The school’s gym was a sea of faces. Those who sponsored the event, along with their family and friends, were given the best seats near the cat walk. Those who contributed prizes for the winners were given the bleachers in the gym’s first tier. Parents of the students and the general public were given the above concourse, second tier bleacher seats.

Miss Turley’s students spent the year designing the fashions. They painstakingly went through the process of design, from the basic drawing of the dress to the fabric selection. Once the designs were approved, the students approached local businesses hoping to find someone willing to fund the costs associated with the construction of a fine Miss Turley approved garment. The students took their drawings to each potential sponsor and sold the dress’s concept. If they did their homework, and had all their ducks in a row, they’d walk away with the money needed to create their senior year masterpiece.

Friends, may I present Lorella Lumpkin, the winner of Cloverdale's Fashion on Parade for 2009. In the picture, you see her wearing her beautiful Dress of Many Colors. Lorella's dress was sponsored by Moss’s Wonderland Bakery on the High Street. The crowd gasped when Lorella walked out on the cat walk from behind the concession stand. She stopped as flashbulbs enveloped her in light. Once she regained her eyesight, she walked carefully through the course marked on the gym floor with masking tape. At the end of the runway she stopped, turned, and shot a few winks to her parents and Mr. Moss. Flower pedals were tossed before her as she returned to the Concession Stand. It is the audience’s way of praising the achievement in the fabric arts.

Sweetems

Just before Lorella disappeared from sight, her boyfriend Lenny moved through the crowd carrying Lorella’s darling dog Sweetems. Lorella was no dummy, and knew she needed something out of the ordinary to clench the trophy. Sweetems, and the special costume she created for him, was that insurance. Lenny delivered Sweetems into her arms. The audience responded in thunderous applause. We were witnesses to two fashion masterpieces - Lorella’s Dress of Many Colors and Sweetems's Valentine Cape. No one, except the losers, left the gym disappointed that night.

Lorella Lumpkin was victorious. She owned the night. Miss Turley was pleased. I personally thought the dress was an abomination of the creative arts but I’m no judge of fashion. I went to the Fashion on Parade in hopes of gathering a few more interesting stories for my letters. I’m happy to report my mixing paid off. I got the stories I was looking for - stories about life in our Cloverdale in the Shire.

Regards,
Victor