Sunday, August 12, 2018

TASE T. LENTIL WAS WINNER IN 1989 OF NATIONAL LENTIL FESTIVAL 'MYSTERY LENTIL' NAME GAME CONTEST


POSTED 8/12/2018, IMMEDIATELY BELOW IS LINK TO STORY WHICH INCLUDES LINKS TO NATIONAL LENTIL FESTIVAL RADIO COMMERCIALS FROM OVER THE YEARS  … THANKS TO ROD SCHWARTZ


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Oh, did you wonder about photo of Taste T. Lentil, mascot of Pullman's National Lentil Festival, with Garth Brooks?  Here's the story:

Country superstar Garth Brooks is performing five shows in Portland in April 2015.  This brings back memories of 1993 when Garth performed twice in Pullman.

His back-to-back sold out gigs were Saturday, Aug. 7, and Sunday, Aug. 8, 1993, in Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum at Washington State University.

Garth’s shows were the largest events ever held at the coliseum, Jim Crow, then its director, to the Moscow Pullman Daily News. The shows set the building record for attendance (11,800 for the first concert and 11,400 for the second), gross sales, and were the first sellouts in coliseum's history.

This photo is of Garth posing with Pullman's National Lentil Festival mascot Tase T. Lentil, portrayed by George Sharp, then National Lentil Festival director and later to become Pullman Chamber of Commerce executive director. It was taken in a Coliseum room before the first Pullman performance.

As a promotional item, George had post cards made of the photo and asked people in Pullman and on the Palouse to mail post cards to family and friends inviting them to the 1994 National Lentil Festival. While the post card promotion was effective, it caused confusion since some recipients thought Garth was going to perform at the 1994 festival.

To clarify, Garth did not perform at the 1993 National Lentil Festival. He was in Pullman and performed at WSU in August 1993, but not as part of the festival.

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NATIONAL LENTIL FESTIVAL’S UNSUNG HEROINE:
SHE NAMED TASE T. LENTIL

There's an unsung heroine of the National Lentil Festival.

She's Jan Gaskins.

The National Lentil Festival started in 1989. In September of that year the name of the festival's mascot was announced after a "Mystery Lentil" name game contest.
Of 204 entries, submitting the winner was Jan Gaskins, a teacher at Pullman's Jefferson Elementary School.

Hail to Jan Gaskins for naming Tase T!

Lost to time are names of all of the other entries; however one person with a long memory says two of them were "Lenny Legume" and "Yvonne Lentil."

Lewiston Trib Sept 19, 1989: PULLMAN -- School children sent off helium filled balloons,   Mayor Carole Helm gave a speech and Pullman's "mystery lentil" got a name Monday during kick-off ceremonies for the National Lentil Festival. The festival's 8-foot-tall, lentil-faced mascot was christened Tase T. Lentil which was the winning entry in the Mystery Lentil Name Game Contest. Jan Gaskins, a Jefferson elementary school teacher, won $100 for submitting the name. A total of 204 names were submitted, said Kristi Kurle, festival chairman.

Lewiston Trib Sept 13, 1989: PULLMAN -- The official festival kickoff is scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday at Sunnyside School. Local officials will speak and the winning entry in the "Mystery Lentil" name game will be announced. The costumed lentil character will appear at all lentil festival events. Name contest entries can be submitted until 5 p.m. Saturday at Balloons Etc., E. 246 Main St.; Flowers by the Laurel Tree, E. 470 Main St.; and Busters Food Emporium, E. 1005 Main St.

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