Saluting "dad's best friend": Adherents of duct tape will stage festival in Ohio town
If you're tired of Presidential politics and you haven't planned your vacation yet, may I be permitted to offer a suggestion? How about going to Ohio to celebrate an American icon?
This town near Cleveland is planning what could be the first ever -- anywhere -- duct tape festival. The Avon Heritage Duct Tape Festival is to take place Father's Day weekend -- June 19-20.
"Hey, we're the duct tape capital of the U.S.," said Avon Mayor Jim Smith. "It's true. Sixty percent of the duct tape goes through Avon."
The city is home to the world headquarters for Henkel Consumer Adhesives, which makes the Duck brand of the tape.
So when the town was looking for a sponsor for a celebration, they turned to their largest employer -- Henkel.
The idea, er, stuck.
Why Father's Day weekend?
"A lot of dads use duct tape," said Melanie Amato, Henkel's director of advertising. "Of course, a lot of moms do too, but the fact that it's Father's Day weekend, the focus is on dads."
Details for the Duct Tape Dad of the Year contest are still being tweaked, said Amato, whose company hosts a duct tape prom outfit contest in which contestants vie for scholarships.
"Duct tape is offbeat, quirky," Amato admitted. Callers to the company's 800 line provide testimony to unusual duct tape applications. Among them: mending a pet turtle's broken shell, lashing oneself high in a tree to avoid dangerous animals and whipping up a quick rose for a sweetie on Valentine's Day.
There are now about five manufacturers of duct tape, but Henkel is the largest, Amato said.
Fathers Day weekend? Hell, I'd settle for a round of golf with Adam....
