Laurel Festival Car Wash good clean fun

WINSTED — The Laurel City Commission showed its spirit Saturday, May 14, at the Winsted Ambulance Barn on Main Street, where nearly all contestants in this year’s Laurel Festival volunteered in the organization’s first-ever Laurel Festival Car Wash.Organizers said the event raised nearly $600 as it attracted a line of cars Saturday morning and into the afternoon. “It went very well,” said Laurel City Commission Chairman Tracie Colabella. “We had almost 100 percent participation from the candidates and we want to thank them for coming out and helping us with the fundraiser. We also want to thank everyone who came down to support the girls and the Laurel Festival.”Contestants in this year’s Laurel Festival include Margaret Gainer, April Harding, Casey Sway, Katelyn Bailey, Lindsey Dzielak, Mallory Rotondo, Marijo Ficca, Meghan Dzielak, Samantha Kurlick, Shannon McGrane, Sophia Cannavo, Stephanie Kimball, Brooke Williams, Madison Kelly Peltier, Gabrielle Gangi and Angelica Consiglio.Commission member Debbie Angell took photos at the event and said there was plenty of support from the community. “It was 100 percent awesome,” she said. “At one point, the girls were washing four cars at the same time. The cars were full of pollen and covered in bird doo-doo.”Though the skies were partly cloudy and the air was cool, business was good for the event. “The cars were coming non-stop,” Colabella said. “We could have gone all day.”Colabella agreed that cars were coated in pollen. “There were quite a few very dirty cars. The girls worked non-stop. It was nice to see them all working together, and they had fun.”Colabella thanked the Winsted Area Ambulance Association for providing space for the car wash and encouraged Winsted residents to come out and support this year’s Laurel Festival, Friday through Sunday, June 10 to 12.