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activities the contestants must attend behind the scenes, such as the pop party, a tea party, a brunch, and they are also interviewed by the judges and have to create a bio. On the coronation night, the girls dress up in their dresses and walk the stage one at a time, at the end of the night the awards are handed out. The awards are Miss Talent, Miss
Originality, Miss Beauty, Miss Interview, Miss Fashion, Miss Poise, Miss Personality, Miss Photogenic, 2nd Runner Up, 1st Runner Up, and Queen Neelah.
191:. In the beginning, the events centered on parades, morning, afternoon, and night on October 31. The parades consisted mainly of decorated cars and carriages. Queens and princesses from area festivals rode in the parades, along with a Queen Neelah who was selected based on votes bought at a penny each. The Great Depression and World War II interrupted the Neewollah celebration but in 1958 four businessmen revived and elaborated on the Neewollah theme bringing it back as a 3-day celebration.
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Parade, and a Grand Parade. A chili Cook-off, a hometown musical, and queen's pageant also add to the festival activities. The main downtown is filled with 30 plus food vendors, a large carnival and bandstand for nightly entertainment. The Arts and Crafts show, Great
Pumpkin contest, along with the Band Competition, Fun Run and Chili Cookoff provide activities for everyone. Great Bandstand Entertainment bring a conclusion to the diligent efforts of over 500 community volunteers.
281:, Neewollah is able to offer to any band that wishes to compete for top honors, the opportunity to compete in the Best of Class category. The Best of Class category will be grouped into four groups, based on your band size, not district size. In addition, there will be Trophies awarded, in each class, for the Outstanding Drum Major, Outstanding Color Guard, Outstanding Percussion Line. The grand champion of the festival also receives a trophy.
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is exceedingly well attended. Parade goers set up chairs on the front row in the wee hours of the morning on parade day. As the "great fly over" occurs at 11 a.m. the crowd will be five deep in many places along the route. There are free street acts, the carnival, and food concessions along Penn Ave.
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Queen Neelah is a tradition of the
Neewollah festival. Girls ages 17–18 from Independence and neighboring cities are allowed to compete in this pageant; usually there are around 25–30 contestants. There are two nights of the pageant, the talent portion and then the coronation. However, there are many
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is the adult only event of
Neewollah. From year to year there may be an overall theme, while other years it's a free for all. The Mardi gras type parade extends from Memorial Hall to just south of Penn and Main. A King and Queen Doo Dah are selected each year to preside over the parade of rowdies
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Today, Neewollah is the largest annual celebration in Kansas. The city of
Independence will grow from a town of just under 8600 inhabitants to 75,000 in the final days of the now 10-day celebration. Today's celebration now includes 3 parades: a Doo Dah Parade (adult Kiddie Parade), a Kiddies
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was organized years ago for the enjoyment of the children of
Independence and surrounding area. Down through the years, this event has grown to over 1,000 children participating. In recent years, as many as 15 Middle School bands from all over eastern Kansas have marched in the Kiddie Parade.
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starts at the corner of Penn and
Chestnut. It proceeds from Memorial Hall south on Main St. east to Sixth St., south one block to Maple, where it turns west to Ninth St. The final leg travels north on Ninth St., ending just short of Independence Middle School.
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began in 1919, as an effort to provide positive activities for kids of all ages in place of the typical
Halloween pranks that occurred in the community of
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308:. Residents of Independence and nearby towns can audition for the musical. The musical is performed three times before Neewollah activities start.
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304:. In past years, there have been such musicals as The Little Mermaid & The Addams Family. The 2019 Musical for Neewollah was
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held on the last
Saturday of October, is one of the longest running festivals in the state or area. It takes place at the
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that is liberally sprinkled with a variety of odd drill teams, bearded beauties, and unusual creatures.
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by
William Inge, in which the character Madge is said to have been voted Queen of Neewollah.
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While the Pageant & Medallion Hunt went on in 2020, other activities were canceled.
172:(Halloween spelled backwards) is an annual festival during the last week of October in
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and high school football field. In accordance with regulations approved by
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Families and organizations have built over thirty floats in past parades.
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225:both before and after the Neewollah Grand Parade.
508:Tourist attractions in Montgomery County, Kansas
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426:Greensboro College Neewollah Festival in Texas
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240:One of the big attractions of the annual
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331:Neewollah is mentioned in the play
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317:University of St. Thomas (Texas)
300:There is a musical each year in
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271:The Neewollah Marching Festival
244:is the Parade of the Children.
441:. Dramatists Play Service Inc.
275:Independence Community College
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479:37.225869000°N 95.724369833°W
288:, bands have to march in the
312:Other Neewollah Celebrations
94:Yearly, last week of October
484:37.225869000; -95.724369833
284:In order to compete in the
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357:Neewollah Festival History
153:Neewollah Festival Website
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137:28 October 2023
122:31 October 1919
79:28 October 2024
64:21 October 2024
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23:Infobox recurring event
437:Inge, William (1953).
415:Marching Band Festival
302:The Neewollah Festival
286:Marching Band Festival
266:Marching Band Festival
28:considered for merging
246:The Children’s Parade
242:Neewollah Celebration
513:Independence, Kansas
202:Queen Neelah Pageant
189:Independence, Kansas
174:Independence, Kansas
104:Independence, Kansas
503:Festivals in Kansas
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327:In popular culture
322:Greensboro College
306:Shrek: The Musical
259:The Doo Dah Parade
215:The two-hour-long
170:Neewollah Festival
37:Neewollah Festival
390:The Kiddie Parade
235:The Kiddie Parade
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111:Years active
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134:Most recent
119:Inaugurated
99:Location(s)
17:‹ The
497:Categories
341:References
141:2023-10-28
126:1919-10-31
83:2024-10-28
68:2024-10-21
518:Halloween
185:Neewollah
91:Frequency
26:is being
55:Festival
30:. ›
19:template
296:Musical
180:History
149:Website
139: (
124: (
81: (
66: (
439:Picnic
334:Picnic
279:KSHSAA
102:Penn,
61:Begins
106:67301
51:Genre
76:Ends
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