Editor's Notebook

Hats off to the event staff led by Serena Melton that pulled off a brilliant Heart of Oklahoma Music Festival last Saturday.

There was a steady stream of patrons throughout Saturday but the biggest crowd of the day came at the end when a huge horde gathered to listen to Nashville recording artist and Purcell High School graduate Parker Millsap perform.

One person in attendance told me the longer Parker played the smoother he got.

That’s smooth because he was pretty smooth from the very beginning.

The event was a multi-day task for city crews. The festival had been in the planning stages for at least 18 months.

Talking with vendors, the event was a profitable outing for many of them and a good way to showcase Purcell’s downtown.

Melton and Parks & Rec Director John Blue acquired three giant lighted signs to alert folks at both the north and south ends of town about the festival and one for downtown.

They had port-a-potties hauled in and roll-off dumpsters for the excess trash.

Crews worked nearly non-stop for two days gearing up for the festival and then cleaning up afterwards.

They did a fantastic job.

City manager Sam Demel said, “The festival was an all hands-on deck event.”

The festival organizing team consisted of Melton, Brandi Idlett, James Bolling, Jeff Hixon, John Idlett, Greg Cypert, Rocky Claunch, Matt Martinez, Trey Phillips, Michael Minor, Justin Howell, Blue, David Kroth and Rachael Huey.

The Purcell Police Department and McClain County Sheriff’s office made sure everyone had a safe experience.

“On the day of event there were more than 60 employees helping,” Demel said.

They are all to be commended because the event was awesome and went off without a hitch.