A MUMFEST Poem...in tribute to its author

In a Mumfest meeting recently with Nancy Hawley who handles our PR work, Danielle and myself, we discussed the Marketing/PR plan for the festival. As we brainstormed new ways to promote the festival among the local residents, the idea of encouraging  someone to write a mumfest song or poem was mentioned. It brought back memories that I related regarding Earl Mills. He  called me in the summer of 2010 asking if I would like him to write a poem about mumfest since it was our 30^th year and we were a 300^th sanctioned event. I didn’t know Earl at the time, but thought it would be a nice thing to do and asked him to stop by the office so I could meet him.  I was delighted to meet Earl and learned he was writing his first book of poetry with hopes of having it published and he wanted to include a poem on mumfest. We, of course, thought it was a great idea.

Earl was raised in Craven County and lived and worked in New Bern all his life. He graduated from high school with a 2^nd grade reading level. He worked for Hatteras for many years as a mechanic, married and raised and educated his family, dreading the day fellow workers and/or his family would find out he was illiterate. When it did become apparent, he was in his 40’s, and his family encouraged him to learn to read through the good work of the Craven Literacy Program. He read his first book at 48 years old and has been reading and writing ever since.  In fact, he is now an accomplished poet, has published a number of books, is an adult literacy ambassador and has received numerous awards and honors. His most recent accomplishment is getting an A in his first college course.



Edward Earl Mills

His poem, published every year in the official Mumfest Program (published by the Sun Journal) is a delight and captures the essence of mumfest.

Join Us At MUMFEST

Downtown New Bern is the place to be,

Join us at mumfest and you will see.

No matter how young, and you’re never too old,

So come on down and take a stroll.

Don’t be in a hurry for there’s a lot to see,

As the downtown mumfest, is the place to be.

If you’re hungry for food, you will find,

Either a vendor or a fine restaurant to dine.

Now put all those lame excuses aside,

And bring the family so you can eat, drink and ride.

Drive across our new bridge this year,

And see the crowds and make a cheer.

There is something there just for you,

No matter what you like to do.

Oh’ by the way, mum is not the word,

So tell a friend if they haven’t already heard.

Edward Earl Mills

Tell us what you think.

Susan Moffat Thomas

Executive Director