Downtown gears up for a party

When all the pieces of the Noble Street Festival puzzle come together, you better watch out.

Not since the days of the Lloyd’s Bakery free movie ticket giveaways has downtown Anniston played witness to the thousands of people expected on May 6 to cheer on world-class cyclists racing at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. This sea of humanity can also enjoy a diverse lineup of live music, experience the talents of area artists, eat to their heart’s (or stomach’s) content and much, much more.

The public at large is more familiar with this event referred to as the Sunny King Criterium, a downtown race that continues to grow in popularity. What sparked the decision by race organizer Mike Poe to flesh the Criterium into the Noble Street Festival was the overwhelming response to the addition of the Taste of Noble downtown dining venue last year. Rooftop observers claimed to watch thousands upon thousands of people swarm one block of Noble Street in pursuit of whatever tasty dish they could get their hands on while watching the blur of cyclists race in the background.

After last year’s success, Poe sensed an opportunity to satisfy the local populace’s desires to engorge themselves and ply their social skills in a larger setting by expanding last year’s event to a full-fledged festival. He accomplished this feat by recruiting a group of locals who share his vision of the many benefits of a first-rate, family-oriented happening.

Local artists Peg Tyler and Eva Andrews have teamed up to host the Pedaling Art Show where adults and children alike can observe the creations of local and regional artists representing a variety of mediums, including ceramics, oil and acrylic, and free form clay sculpture. Festival goers will also have the opportunity to purchase these artistic creations.

Tom Potts, with a little help from yours truly, has a music slate filled with a bevy of local musicians, including Harry Case, Lords of the Altamont, Distant Cousins and Keitha Williams, and a headline act dubbed as “The Greatest Beatles Tribute Band in the World”, The Return.

These guys look like Paul, John, George and Ringo and are fitted in period attire to give the audience a surreal recreation of the Beatles during their touring years (1963-66). They are supposed to be quite a trip, but not of the type that earlier Beatles aficionados engaged in during the year of Sgt. Pepper psychedelics.

Jean Ann Oglesby and Linda Hearn are the dynamic duo of dining queens, recruiting over 25 restaurants to participate in the Red Diamond Restaurant Tour. All that dancing around the music stage should create quite an appetite! Two areas of improvement over last year’s event are more restaurants and a dining area consisting of two blocks instead of one.

The main event is the Sunny King Criterium, a race that continues to increase in cycling talent and purse money. It is quite a sight to watch these athletes breeze around the one-kilometer race course muscling for position barely inches apart at speeds reaching over 40 miles per hour. If you don’t think 40 miles per hour is warp speed on a bike, just dust off your old Huffy and race down 10th Street Mountain. I’ll be sure to call the rescue squad to scrape off the asphalt whatever’s left of you after your trip reaches its inevitable conclusion.

And this column wouldn’t be complete unless I mentioned some manner of running endeavor. A recent addition to the Noble Street Festival is the Mellow Mushroom Mad Dash, a one kilometer sprint on the same course used by the cyclists. This event awards prize money for the top male and female contestants, which means every ex-track star will think about lacing up and attempting to relive athletic days long since past.

Speaking for myself, I would love to see a good showing by local high school track and fielders. For the young and ambitious, first place pays $150….

Robert Jackson is Assistant Vice President for Operations at The Anniston Star. Contact him by e-mail at