Claeys: Saturday in the Park has a new name
By Jesse Claeys Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, June 06, 2008
From the notebook:
-- This week, Saturday in the Park posters will start hitting walls and windows around town. Upon close inspection some may notice a slight change in the title of this year's free outdoor festival. For the past 16 years Gateway was the festival's headlining sponsor, hence "Gateway's Saturday in the Park."
The festival was left without a headlining sponsor after the North Sioux City computer maker was acquired by two other companies last September. This year, having been unable to secure a new naming sponsor, festival co-founder David Bernstein decided to call the 2008 event "Tommy Rempp's Saturday in the Park Festival."
Rempp, known to many for saying "hiya" to one and all as he hung concert posters around Sioux City for decades, was a longtime SITP volunteer who once threatened to sue the festival after falling down while working one year. Rempp said that if he ever decided to sue, he'd own SITP and name it after himself.
This year, without a lawsuit, Rempp got his wish. Rempp passed away in 2002 at the age of 55. Bernstein accepted Rempp's induction into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall support staff category last year.
-- In keeping with music, the upcoming June 29 Taylor Swift concert at the Tyson Events Center has at least two local ties that might be boosting ticket sales. Grant Mickelson, a member of North High School's class of 2003, plays lead guitar and sings background vocals for Swift, winner of multiple country music awards.
Swift may have a thing for Sioux City boys, as another former resident is featured in the video for her single "Picture to Burn." Justin Sandy, a 1999 graduate of East High School and a professional football player, stars in the video as Swift's ex-boyfriend. So far, more than 6,500 tickets to the Sioux City concert have been sold.
-- What's in a name? A little bit of Greek mythology, if we're talking about Hyperion. After Tuesday's Union County vote it appears we'll be seeing the name Hyperion for decades to come in this area. But what is "Hyperion," besides the name of a company proposing to build an oil refinery? In Greek mythology, Hyperion was one of 12 titans, a race of powerful deities who ruled the world. Hyperion was known as the son of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Heaven) and was said to be the first to understand the movement of the sun and moon.
-- The other night I was sitting in a bar and overheard two men discussing the state of the economy. After about three cold ones the men decided the solution to their money problems lies in the old-school method of bartering. The bartender was then grilled on how many beers the regulars could get in exchange for a charcoal grill. Turns out these guys are not alone in wanting to acquire goods without dishing out any cash. A quick peek at the Craig's List Web site shows locals wanting to trade, among other times: a powerful Dell Computer for a "Ford Escort, or something small like that in decent shape" and creation of a Web site for "silk artificial plants, import beer, e-marketing, percussion equipment or nice golf clubs."
-- While the Craig's List folks are attempting to avoid spending any money, one anonymous Sioux City man is looking to the Internet to make some. "FishOnTilt," the screen name of an online poker player from Sioux City, is making waves among virtual gamblers. This week "FishOnTilt" moved up to No. 34 in pocketfives.com's rankings of the best Internet poker players after taking down the Full Tilt $40,000 tournament in late May. If anyone knows who this player is, pass along that this reporter could use some pointers.
Jesse Claeys can be reached at (712) 293-4221 or jesseclaeys@siouxcityjournal.com.
-- This week, Saturday in the Park posters will start hitting walls and windows around town. Upon close inspection some may notice a slight change in the title of this year's free outdoor festival. For the past 16 years Gateway was the festival's headlining sponsor, hence "Gateway's Saturday in the Park."
The festival was left without a headlining sponsor after the North Sioux City computer maker was acquired by two other companies last September. This year, having been unable to secure a new naming sponsor, festival co-founder David Bernstein decided to call the 2008 event "Tommy Rempp's Saturday in the Park Festival."
Rempp, known to many for saying "hiya" to one and all as he hung concert posters around Sioux City for decades, was a longtime SITP volunteer who once threatened to sue the festival after falling down while working one year. Rempp said that if he ever decided to sue, he'd own SITP and name it after himself.
This year, without a lawsuit, Rempp got his wish. Rempp passed away in 2002 at the age of 55. Bernstein accepted Rempp's induction into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall support staff category last year.
-- In keeping with music, the upcoming June 29 Taylor Swift concert at the Tyson Events Center has at least two local ties that might be boosting ticket sales. Grant Mickelson, a member of North High School's class of 2003, plays lead guitar and sings background vocals for Swift, winner of multiple country music awards.
Swift may have a thing for Sioux City boys, as another former resident is featured in the video for her single "Picture to Burn." Justin Sandy, a 1999 graduate of East High School and a professional football player, stars in the video as Swift's ex-boyfriend. So far, more than 6,500 tickets to the Sioux City concert have been sold.
-- What's in a name? A little bit of Greek mythology, if we're talking about Hyperion. After Tuesday's Union County vote it appears we'll be seeing the name Hyperion for decades to come in this area. But what is "Hyperion," besides the name of a company proposing to build an oil refinery? In Greek mythology, Hyperion was one of 12 titans, a race of powerful deities who ruled the world. Hyperion was known as the son of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Heaven) and was said to be the first to understand the movement of the sun and moon.
-- The other night I was sitting in a bar and overheard two men discussing the state of the economy. After about three cold ones the men decided the solution to their money problems lies in the old-school method of bartering. The bartender was then grilled on how many beers the regulars could get in exchange for a charcoal grill. Turns out these guys are not alone in wanting to acquire goods without dishing out any cash. A quick peek at the Craig's List Web site shows locals wanting to trade, among other times: a powerful Dell Computer for a "Ford Escort, or something small like that in decent shape" and creation of a Web site for "silk artificial plants, import beer, e-marketing, percussion equipment or nice golf clubs."
-- While the Craig's List folks are attempting to avoid spending any money, one anonymous Sioux City man is looking to the Internet to make some. "FishOnTilt," the screen name of an online poker player from Sioux City, is making waves among virtual gamblers. This week "FishOnTilt" moved up to No. 34 in pocketfives.com's rankings of the best Internet poker players after taking down the Full Tilt $40,000 tournament in late May. If anyone knows who this player is, pass along that this reporter could use some pointers.
Jesse Claeys can be reached at (712) 293-4221 or jesseclaeys@siouxcityjournal.com.
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Brandon wrote on Jun 6, 2008 4:54 PM:
still at gateway wrote on Jun 6, 2008 8:44 AM:
classmate wrote on Jun 6, 2008 8:15 AM: