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Saturday, May 13, 2006
By JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
Staff writer
Loud and proud and boisterous they came
A flock of town criers with champion their aim
They rang and they cried, not one the same
As they projected and called out, for Tulip Time fame
The Holland Civic Center was filled with eloquent cries on Friday from a baker's dozen of town criers from halfway around
the world.
Eleven men and two women, adorned in regal garments, took the stage one at a time and belted out their own anthems for
a large, appreciative crowd of festival goers.
Mother Nature's unseasonable chill and a soaking rain moved the 2006 Town Crier Competition indoors, where the criers
mingled with the food and craft vendors of Marktplaats.
"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Ladies and gentlemen gather near ...," quieted the eating and shopping masses.
If the volume of the crying didn't capture the crowd's attention, the rich piercing clangs from mop-bucket-sized bells
did.
The first round was the Hometown Cry, where criers could "brag about where they're from," said John Karsten,
Holland's own official town crier.
The second round was the Open Cry where just any topic became crier fodder.
Karsten set the bar with a bench cry at the start of both rounds, then served as moderator keeping the event rolling smoothly
and filling in the gaps with stories of his native Netherlands.
Of the 13 good-natured competitors, seven criers came from Canada, two from California, one each from the Netherlands
and United Kingdom, one from Washington, and a West Michigan favorite, Art Tolsma, Saugatuck's town crier.
Some were inventive and clever and spun fascinating tales as they worked the crowd, while others stood board stiff, concentration
etched on their faces as they stuck to a straightforward script.
Melodic, song-like cries and humorous oratories were rewarded with robust applause.
Taking home the granddaddy prize, first place for Best Cry, was David McKee of Ontario. Along with bragging rights, McKee
received $200.
Second place Best Cry went to Chris Whyman of Ontario, and third place to Bill McKee of Ontario.
Judy Jewell from the Seattle area of Washington received an honorable mention as the best American crier.
Champion crier McKee looked a bit like Santa with his green and red coat, shiny black boots and bushy white beard.
He got the crowd chuckling during his Home Town Cry when he extolled the fineness of Brantford, Ontario, having "a
state-of-the-art RV dumping station."
During his Open Cry, McKee stomped his boots and pleaded with bankers and investors to steer clear of Alexander Graham
Bell and his new "devilish contraption" that would allow communication over telegraph wires.
McKee, one of the more animated competitors, cried how Bell's "contrivance" could doom the noble town criers.
"See this telephone as a frivolous toy," he cried to potential investors, "and say 'nay!' to Bell's invention!"
Whyman's final cry bemoaned the fate of town criers in present day, when meeting people who don't appreciate the art of
town crying.
" ... But today it's 'Hey, look at the pirate!' and 'Where's your hook?' ... 'Hey man, why ya screamin'," bellowed
Whyman.
He told the crowd he puts off that abuse when he shouts back: "I get paid to dress funny -- what's your excuse!"
Peter Vader of the Netherlands was judged Best Dressed Crier, followed by Bruce Kruger of Ontario in second place, and
Whyman in third.
Loes van Driezum, Vader's escort, was named Best Dressed Escort, followed by Karen Whiting, escort of Les Whiting of Ontario,
in second and Josie Fry, escort of David Fry from England, in third place.
In a dare to the gray sky outside, crier Les Whiting ended one of his cries with "May the sun always shine on Tulip
Time" -- which drew out cheers from a few soggy spectators.
Contact John Charles Robbins at (616) 546-4269 or john.robbins@hollandsentinel.com.
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