Favorite comic canine is back to help waterski club put on a special show

By Geri McShane, assistant editor

When &8220;Scooby Doo and the Curse of the Ghost Pirate&8221; sets sail from Edgewater Bay Thursday, there will be pirates of all sizes, girls in bright colors and, of course, the Scooby Doo gang.

Putting the characters in costume for the Bayside Ski Team’s show has been the work of Jane Edwards, who actually started sewing for this year’s show last August when the club was at a tournament.

&8220;My main objective was to fill out the costumes for the men and it became sort of a part-time job,&8221; she said. &8220;I think I sewed some every week and just added a couple more men’s costumes for the size variance.&8221;

While she has been sewing off and on for the club for 10 years, this is the most she’s ever sewn in one year.

&8220;This year I sewed around 90 costumes,&8221; she said. &8220;That’s a lot of Lycra.&8221;

The hardest part of the job is never knowing who is skiing in what act and whether the costumes will fit those actor-skiers.

&8220;You have to guess and pray that, for the most part, your guesswork is right,&8221; Edwards said.

This year’s costumes are by far the most elaborate she’s made in her years of sewing for the club.

&8220;It’s fun to sew for the girls. Bright colors work best on the water,&8221; she said. &8220;For the men, it’s the same pattern with color variations.&8221;

Edwards said the irony of it all is that she never received a great grade in home economics class because she was an impulsive sewer. &8220;I hated reading directions, but I started with doll clothes and then began sewing for myself a little when I was 14 or so,&8221; she said. &8220;Unfortunately, I think sewing is a lost art; people my daughter’s age don’t usually know how to sew.&8221;

Her inspiration for this year’s costumes comes from the fact that her husband, Doug, is show director and she wanted the team and Albert Lea to be proud of the show and all the ski team has to offer the community.

In fact, the show this year is written with Albert Lea’s sesquicentennial celebration on mind.

Doug Edwards also credits his wife for the themes in the show.

&8220;Jane is no doubt the catalyst to the success last year, and my inspiration this year.

The brain child of fitting in the sesquicentennial was Erik Larsen’s idea and it fit so well with the celebration we just had to figure it out.

It was by far the largest challenge, but once the creative juices started flowing by the team it all fell together,&8221; Edwards said. &8220;I think the city of Albert Lea and its leaders will be proud of the combination.

It was done in honor of Albert Lea.&8221;

When the Bayside Skiers presented &8220;Scooby Doo and the Curse of the Tiki Mask&8221; in 2005, they drew record crowds and had numerous requests for Scooby Doo to come back this year.

&8220;Scooby Doo and the Curse of the Ghost Pirate&8221; is a fast-moving combination of &8220;National Treasure,&8221; &8220;Pirates of the Caribbean&8221; and the Scooby Doo gang, who is in town to celebrate the city’s sesquicentennial.

Captain Billy Bones, an eighth-generation &8220;wrong-way&8221; pirate is continuing the family tradition of looking for the treasure of the ghost pirate buried 150 years ago. A calamity of errors results in these bumbling, knocked-kneed pirates ending up in Albert Lea, convinced they have finally cracked the code to the hidden treasure. Bones hears about the &8220;Crown Jewel&8221; of Albert Lea and is now even more convinced he is close to the coveted treasure that has eluded his family for eight generations.

But first, Bones must scare off the locals to search for the treasure. The ghost pirate is born.

Luckily, Scooby Doo and the gang are in Albert Lea helping out Freddy’s old ski team put on a grandiose show for the celebration. Shaggy and Scooby get into some hot water, but fortunately Freddy, Daphne and of course the brains of the gang, Velma, all help shake out this ghostly mystery.

&8220;You will have to pay close attention as the classic Scooby Doo mystery plays out through the show,&8221; Edwards said. &8220;And of course, expect to see an awesome ski show with a variety of acts ranging from the 50 mph barefoot pyramids to the grace and skill of swivel skiing.&8221;

There will also be wakeboard flips off the wake and the jump, as well as jumpers, ballet line, doubles, trick ski, shoe ski, kneeboard acts and more.

There will be shows every Thursday at 7 p.m. from June 29 through Labor Day at Edgewater Park, with the exception of fair week. There are also special shows on the Fourth of July and Labor Day at 2 p.m. Pre-show acts, featuring the &8220;Dream Team,&8221; or younger skiers, start at

6:15 p.m. before Thursday shows. Admission to the show is free, but the club does &8220;pass the hat&8221; to help defray expenses.

&8220;I am thrilled about the product we have for the community this year,&8221; Doug Edwards said. &8220;It will rival last year in humor and professionalism.&8221;