The webmaster's photos of Harlem, Ga.'s 19th Annual

Oliver Hardy Festival, taken on Oct. 5 and 6, 2007

Harlem, Georgia -- the birthplace town of Oliver Hardy -- holds an annual Oliver Hardy Festival each year on the first Saturday in October. On the night before the 19th annual Hardy Festival, my son David and I were invited to attend a dinner and meeting of Harlem’s Berth Marks Tent. The photos below are from the Oct. 5, 2007 Tent meeting (held at Harlem's Laurel & Hardy Museum) and the Festival which took place the following day. Many thanks to Berth Marks' Grand Sheik, Greg Preast, for his hospitality and help.

David and I in front of the banner for the Friday night dinner, which was held at Harlem's newly refurbished Red Oak Manor.

One of the Tent meeting's attendees: George Hardy, a cousin of Oliver Hardy. (Sorry for the photo's poor quality.)

Dr. Tom Toney, impersonating Ollie, spoke briefly before the Tent's screening of Sons of the Desert. Toney is a professor in Milledgeville, where Hardy grew up. (David looks on at left.)

The day after the Festival, The Augusta Chronicle printed this photo of David and me at the Festival.
Following are three photos of David and me in front of Harlem's Laurel & Hardy Museum.

David and I "riding with" Stan and Ollie, at the Museum's photo-op standee.

Harlem's city water tower, honoring its "favorite son."

(C) 2007, Steven Bailey.