A SPECIAL NOTE OF APPRECIATION

The success of Mariposa's 2009 Butterfly Festival could only have happened though cooperation between the Historic Mariposa County Business Association, individual merchants and businesses, the Board of Supervisors, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Mariposa County Library, many volunteers and the Mariposa Community in general.

Special thanks go to Kevin Cann, who represented the Festival to the Board of Supervisors, Pam and Mark and their crew from Parks and Recreation, and Dana Hertfelder from Public Works. Each of these people went beyond the realm of their duties to make the Festival safe and beautiful. Some other notables are Mark Fogh of Mariposa Sanitation, Randy Brower who provided electricity for the Second Stage, Fred Youngren of Total Waste, Andy and Paula of All Around Tree Service for the use of the boom truck for the butterfly releases, Tom Velasquez of Sierra Tel Business Center for the “millions” of copies he ran for us and Vince Minor of VA Minor and Sons Transport, who provided the trailer for the Second Stage and Debbie Bennett for making those arrangements and being instrumental in the the stage decorations and for providing all of the oranges for the butterfly releases.

Special Thanks go to the people and businesses who provided the funds for the classroom butterflies. There were 40 classrooms involved this year. The following were classroom butterfly donors: Jean Dewey, Anita Petrich, Pizza Factory, Mariposa Market Place, Driesbeck Enterprises, Chocolate Soup, Mariposa County Tax/Treasurer/Clerks Office Staff, Sugar Pine Cafe, Len Bryant, Lindsey Harris, C.J. Tomino, Dontia Ray, Foster's True Value Hardware, Jeff Nicholas, Beth Healy (A Cut Above), Beverly Suggs, Stage Stop, Drug Tech, Yosemite Bed and Breakfast Association, Technique Computers, San Joaquin Drugs, Deborah Bennett, several vendors from the Mariposa Marketplace and Natural Environments.

There were also many who not only purchased butterflies but also raised them in their offices, businesses or homes. Marcia Perez of the Mariposa Marketplace, Elaine Seymour of Chocolate Soup, Gary and Zola Walker, the office staff of Mariposa Probation Department, Lisa Carisio, the staff of Mariposa Planning/Building/Health, Deborah Bennett, Mary Bass of San Joaquin Drugs, Diane Hernandez of the Mariposa Visitor Center, Anita Petrich from Child Welfare, Sierra Telephone, Dan Cassady of Mariposa Physical Therapy, Sylvia Emory from the Mariposa Museum and History Center, Jackie Davis of Boutique by the Creek, Gary Colliver of Windows on the World, Karen Cutter of Ladybug Embroidery, Doris Boyer, Jean Gabrielson, The Butterfly Cafe, Trish and Jim Nady of the Company Store, Heidi Nelson, Coast Hardware, Alinda Franklin of Dolls by Alinda, Bonnie Cervine of Synchronicity, Scott Wiegle of Wiegle Jewelry, Denise Southerland, and Lezley Fife of Driesbeck Enterprises.

Many of the above were a part of the day long event of separating the butterfly eggs to be delivered to those raising the butterflies. We would also like to thank the young men from the probation department who helped not only with the egg separation they also carried box after box of supplies into the Library Community Room. There were also the brave souls who cleaned the butterfly pavilions after they were released, thank you Janis Fox-Davis and Shelly Dulcich.

Thank you, Pastor Ginger of the Methodist Church, who graciously opened the Methodist Church during the rain so that the Little Miss Butterfly and Captain Caterpillar Costume Contest could be held. Thanks to Tom Phillips who was gracious enough to work the sound system for the youngsters.

The Butterfly Festival Reception provided a respite from the rain and I would personally like to thank all who came out in the storm to share a very enjoyable evening. The Best Western welcomed the Festival and the Shriners with open arms. Special thanks go to Bob Perez who was the MC for the reception and encouraged the Shriners to come to town. Special thanks go to the creators of the many and diverse hats. They should be applauded for their creativity. Many of the local restaurants provided the fare as a “Taste of Mariposa” was once again a great hit with the locals and our out of town visitors. The following Restaurants provided food: Butterfly Cafe, Castillos, Charles Street, China Station, Happy Burger, Miner's Inn, Missy's Red Fox, Ocean Sierra, Pioneer Market, Pizza Factory, Pizza Plus, Savoury's, Pop's, River Rock Cafe, Short Stop Sandwiches, Take and Bake Pizza and the Yosemite Bug Hostel. Also a great big thanks to Mirriam of Savoury's for the use of the beautiful tablecloths.

The "Butterfly Shuttle" was a new addition to the festival and we would like to thank Mary Williams of the Senior Center for facilitating the use of the bus, and Norm Card for driving the bus.

The Butterfly Festival Parade was helped along by Todd from Yosemite Gifts, Randy from The Sports Bar and Dana Hertfelder. Trent Williams, Matt Foraker and Kevin Cann who were the Parade Judges and Lisa Carisio was there to provide help. Jim Dulcich not only served as our Grand Marshall, but also provided a canopy for our musicians on Stage 2 when the downpour began. We can't forget our MC, Dennis Croucher!

The merchants and businesses were once again very generous with their donations, both financially and with raffle gifts to use as fund raisers. The list of contributions is long, but please bear with me and let me give each the recognition they deserve. A Cut Above, A Gentle Touch Massage, Alpine Builders, Boutique by the Creek, Castillos, Chappell Winery, Chevron, Clip Joint Hair Salon, Colonial Woodwrights, Costco, Delaware North, Dial's Rock Shop, Dog Grooming by Tess, Dolls by Alinda, Drug Tech, Eponymous Wines, Fremont House, Grace Note Chimes, Granville's Speedie Lube, Happy Burger, Java Joe, Jerry's Custom Truss, Jewelry by Yvonne, Jovanna Creations, Kristi's Skate Shop, Ladybug Embroidery, Mail Boxes and More, Main Street Flowers and Gifts, Mariposa Feed, Mariposa Fruit and Nut, Mariposa Hair Salon, Mariposa Martial Arts Academy, Martha's Boutique, Miners Inn, Miners Shack Video, Mountain Western Wear, Nails by Sam, NAPA, Natural Environments, Odella's Antiques, Pizza Factory, Pizza Plus, Pony Espresso, Short Stop Sandwiches, Record's Sierra Stationers, River Creek Golf, River Rock Cafe, Sal's Restaurant, San Joaquin Drug, Savoury's, Stage Stop, Stone Creek Gallery, Synchronicity, Tarah Kilgore-Roupe – Nail Technician, The Company Store, Top Tech Auto, Total Waste, True Value, Windows on the World Book Store, Yosemite Bug Resort, Yosemite Gifts, Zephyr River Rafting.

There were also two fun photo spots where kids could have their pictures taken. Lorie Setterberg created a butterfly photo board with holes so the kids could poke their heads through. Barbara Milazzo, along with a group of second graders, created two butterfly boards using recycled materials. All of the boards were colorful additions to the Festival.

We also would like to thank the entertainers that filled our stages; The Joe Dollar Band, Electric Blue (Sponsored by Mt. Bullion Winery, Harold Castro), Chelsea and Crystal from Nashville, Tennessee. Brianne Collins and her students, Bob De Witt's Band (Snake Rock), Beth Healy, and the Praise and Worship Band from Catheys Valley Baptist Church, Tom Phillips, Charlie Wildt, Jon Turner, Johnny Palmer and Bob Daniels who came all the way from Turlock and Sue Peacock (UPS Sue) and her dance group for the line dancing demonstrations.

Thank you, Pastor Ken Trujillo for delivering our Sunday morning worship service, even though there was a threat of rain the sun shined throughout the service. 

Thank you Jerry and Yvonne of the Sierra Sun Times who not only provided updated information on the website, they also continue to support the Festival by having slide shows of most all of the events that took place. Thank you, Linda Gast and Charlie Phillips for the great photos that are being used on the Festival website: http://www.mariposabutterflyfestival.org and a special thanks to Charlie Phillips and Yvonne Sarazin for keeping our website going. Thank you Dan Tucker and the Mariposa Gazette staff for providing photos and local publicity through the newspaper. Special thanks to Jill Ballinger who edited many articles submitted, and to John McCorkle for photos.

Thank you, also to Larry Vilott of Vilott Creative Services who created our wonderful postcard and Jeff Hentz, of the Mariposa County Visitors Bureau, for the help with our advertising.

Thank you Miriam Costello for the beautiful displays that you did in the Visitors' Center and the Library.

Several volunteers stepped forward to man the information booth. Jill Craig, Mary Bass, Vi Holtz, Gary Walker, Jeanetta Phillips, Jackie Davis, Janet Stallings, Pat Wicka, Becky Craig and Wade Easler.

Words cannot express the gratitude that I feel for the team of volunteers that worked together for the last nine months to put the Festival together. Robbie and Mike Crowley, Jeanetta Phillips, Charlie Phillips, Karen Helms, Yvonne and Jerry Sarazin, Sylvia Emory, Gary Walker, Karen Cutter (and Mark), Trish and Jim Nady, Jackie Davis and Janet Stallings of Boutique by the Creek, Oralee Phillips, Debbie Bennett, Jennifer and Bill Shipman, Marcia Price, Travis Meyers, Rich Hutchinson, Jill Craig from Drugtech, Miriam Costello, and Alinda Franklin of Dolls by Alinda.

As you can see, the Butterfly Festival was a community event. I am certain that I have not included all who helped, but be assured, your presence was needed and greatly appreciated. Thank you for making this years festival a success, we couldn't have done it without you all..

Sincerely,

Odella Knell

Festival Chair