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PAGE 6/SHOWTIME/THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2005
SHOWTIME/THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2005/PAGE 11
Homecoming: A celebration of
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The O’Jays
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NNPA WINNER - 2005 MERIT AWARDS
National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation
By ReGINA “G STYL”
CRAWFORD
Contributing Writer
Canton recently put together a
complete weekend of activities to
celebrate their own national
celebrities, The O’Jays. Second
Ward Councilman Thomas E.
West and Curtis A. Perry III of
CAP III Productions spearheaded
the weekend.
The proceeds from the weekend’s events will be contributed to
the O’Jays Scholarship Fund for
Music and the Arts, Community
Services of Stark County, A.B.L.E.
Inc. and Multiple Sclerosis; charities that will serve the youth of
Canton Communities for many
years to come. Although founding
members William Powell (died in
1977), Bobby Massey and Bill
Isles were not present for the
weekend’s events, founding members Eddie Levert and Walter
Williams and newest member Eric
Nolan Grant were present for the
celebration.
The weekend began on Friday,
July 8, with Canton Mayor Janet
Creighton presenting Eddie,
Walter and Eric with their own
individual Keys to the City in front
of a crowd over 500 fans and supporters at the courthouse on
Second and Market streets.
The day’s activities also
included performances by local
Canton musicians, as well as, several gratulatory statements by several local celebrities such as
Omarosa Manigault Stallwoth
(Youngstown, “The Apprentice”)
and Chad “Cutter” Coleman
(HBO’s “The Wire”). Fans were
able to purchase T-Shirts, posters
and souvenir booklets while
attending the various events. Fans
were also able to have items autographed by The O’Jays at a VIP
reception held at the Marriott
McKinley Grand Hotel.
“We are extremely proud of
The O’Jays,” said Creighton. “We
are the home to another Hall of
Fame, so when other Hall of
Famers come home from another
institution, it’s just great for our
city. They were born and raised
here. They haven’t forgotten
where their home is and it’s just
great for the city of Canton.”
A Celebrity Golf Tournament
was held at the Glenmoor Country
Club on Saturday, July 9. Invited
celebrity golfers included Gerald
Call & Post Newspaper
• 1st place Best Entertainment Section
Eddie, Eric and Walt acknowledge the crowd as they are presented with a street sign dedicated to the legendary O’Jay’s. (All photos by Mychal Lilly)
Levert, Sean Levert, Ray Ellis,
Eric Snow and Steve Perry (“The
White House – GSA”), just to
name a few. The events were sponsored by Time Warner Cable,
Timken Foundation, WHBC,
WZAK, Elite Limousine Inc.,
Canton Repository, Pro Football
Hall of Fame, Alan Schulman and
Associates, Cicchini Enterprise
(McDonalds), Canton Negro Oldtimers Association, Aultcare,
American Family Insurance,
Diebold, Steve Perry GSA,
Marriott McKinley Grand Hotel,
Key Bank, Canton regional
Chamber of Commerce and others.
Sunday, July 10, however, was
the big day as the day’s events
included an eight block parade
which concluded in Nimisilla Park
As the limo arrives, throngs of Canton well-wishers come out to greet “their own” O’Jay’s.
near
the site of the newly name O’Jays
Parkway. At the end of the parade,
performances were given by local
Canton and Akron musicians and
dancers, which were followed by
presentation of awards to The
O’Jays from the office Sen. Mike
DeWine, by U.S. Rep. Ralph
Regula, from the office President
George Bush presented by Steve
Perry, Canton City Council presented by Councilman West, the
Cuyahoga County Commissioners
presented by ReGina Crawford
and the Council of the City of
Cleveland. The official unveiling
of the street sign proclaiming
Mahoning Road the O’Jays
Parkway followed with each of
The O’Jays being presented with
their own individual gold street
signs.
However, the crowning event
was a concert, opened by The
Temptations Review, featuring
Dennis Edwards, featuring The
O’Jays’ performing some of their
greatest hits as well as the first single from their new album
“Imagination.”
As always, these two groups
put on a fabulous show featuring
live bands, old-school dance
moves and incomparable singing.
Each group received standing ovations while on stage as they
wowed the crowd of over 15,000
fans. During the O’Jays performance, Eddie Levert paused to let
the fans, promoters and supports
know that the street dedication
brought tears to his eyes and he
thanked everyone for their support.
During a one-on-one interview
with Williams and Grant, Williams
said, “It’s fantastic [to be finally
recognized by the city of
Canton].” “Can words explain it?
This is home for me. I’m the only
one who is originally from Canton,
so it’s a special thing for me to be
recognized and to not only be recognized by saying it but by doing
things to show that they do appreciate us. I mean they turned out,
they came to the street dedication,
and they came to the show tonight,
and from what I can tell they had a
great time.”
(SEE OJAYS/PAGE 13)
• 2nd place Best Sports Section
• 3rd place Best News Pictures
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