Party Time!
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LizzardPalooza - taken from the term Lollapalooza (imagine that)
The "American Heritage Dictionary" defines lollapalooza as: "something outstanding of its kind". Palooza is is usually used as a suffix to indicate an extravaganza of some sort.
Well there you have it in a nutshell. The LizzardPalooza is all that and a bag of chips. The Lounge Lizzard's premier darting event is held on Labor Day weekend and closes out the summer with a bang. Over the years it has turned into an event that is looked forward to annually b
y both local and regional darters. It is held outdoors at Capt'n Kenny's Farm and Dart just southeast of Wichita, KS. It is a three day event including darting, camping, great food, live music (when possible) and of course an adult beverage or two... The first LP was back in August of 2001 and was totally outdoors and subject to the elements.We got wet a time or two but always had a great turnout and tons of fun. Three years later a generous donation from Chuck Phillips was used to purchase materials for a 20'x40' open ended quonset (pictured below) to hold the darting events in. The Lizzards invited their friends had an old fashioned barn raising. Oddly enough hasn't rained since. Those of you who spend Labor Day at the Lake can thank the Lizzards for that.It's now 2009! Go figure. The LizzardPalooza has enjoyed a loyal following of over the years and continues to be one of Wichita's favorite darting events.
Before and After
Pictured to the right is the quonset structure donated by Chuck Phillips. It has been a great addition to the Palooza! Hover over the pic and you will see the how the Palooza was setup in the beginning.
The Chow
We have been extremely fortunate to have had John Classen donate his awesome cooking skills and smoker for our first five years. His time and cooking made Saturday dinners a highlight of the LizzardPalooza. Bubba (Allen) Leffew of "Bubba's Nekked BBQ" has taken the reigns the last three Palooza's and has continued the tradition with some of the best smoked meats you can wrap your mouth around. Thanks guys!
The Music
One of Wichita's top rock 'n' roll bands "Savage" was the headline band and rocked the LizzardPalooza Saturday Night's from the the first Palooza through 2007.With a huge repertoire of songs they always came prepared to raise the roof.These guys provided some of the Palooza's most memorable moments and, believe it or not, they donated all their time and equipment to the cause for free. They are currently inactive since Robert Clare's job promotion took him to Tucson. We hope to have them back for another Palooza sometime in the future.The Lizzards greatly appreciate their contribution to the LizzardPaloozas!
The Palooza Blues band is no longer playing as a band but opened up the Palooza on Friday evenings with an assortment of Blues and Rock 'n' Roll occasionally throwing in a what the heck was that tune at random. The band consisted of Merlin Suderman, Bill Pirotte, Pam Songer (no pic available, sorry Pam), Vicki, Victor Tarm (no pictured here, sorry again), Matt Clare,and the Head Lizzard Jim Dunham.
Maury Raines played the 2004 and 2005 Paloozas. He plays a solo act of 60's and 70's acoustic music that brought back a lot of memories for many of us. We hope Maury can stop by again someday.