PAGE 6/SHOWTIME/THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2005 By ReGINA “G STYL” CRAWFORD Contributing W riter 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 week- end’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; chari- ties 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 mem- bers 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 sup- porters at the courthouse on Second and Market streets. The day’s activities also included performances by local Canton musicians, as well as, sev- eral gratulatory statements by sev- eral 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 auto- graphed 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 Levert, Sean Levert, Ray Ellis, Eric Snow and Steve Perry (“The White House – GSA”), just to name a few. The events were spon- sored 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 Old- timers 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 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 pre- sented 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 sin- gle 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 ova- tions while on stage as they wowed the crowd of over 15,000 fans. During the O’Jays perform- ance, 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 sup- port. 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 rec- ognized by saying it but by doing things to show that they do appre- ciate 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) Homecoming: A celebration of The O’Jays The O’Jays Eddie, Eric and Walt acknowledge the crowd as they are presented with a street sign dedicat- ed to the legendary O’Jay’s. (All photos by Mychal Lilly) As the limo arrives, throngs of Canton well-wishers come out to greet “their own” O’Jay’s.