PHOTO ESSAY: Third Annual Bob Howard Memorial Pickleball Tournament

Photo: Thingamajig Theatre Company actors posed as a group in the front yard of the Howard home before the pickleball tournament began, with host Carole Howard standing right.

Photos courtesy Kate Alfred, Trevor Brown and Carole Howard

Thingamajig Theatre Company actors competed in the third annual Bob Howard Memorial Pickleball Tournament on August 5 in honor of Howard, an avid theatre patron who died in October 2022, two weeks after his 80th birthday.  He was a lifelong pilot and active member of the Pagosa aviation community, as well as a member of the Gray Wolf Ski Club and the Pagosa Springs Golf Club.

Bob with his Beechcraft King Air twin turbo-prop at the Pagosa Springs airport. It was his favorite of the 13 planes and a glider he owned during his lifetime.
Tournament director was Pagosa resident Kate Alfred, an expert pickleball player and close pilot friend of the Howards.
The tournament games were played on a court on the Howard driveway.  Two-person mixed doubles teams were created from a random card drawing.
Tournament winners were Ellie O’Hara and Dominic Girolami.
After pickleball, the actors competed in a croquet tournament, won by Jesse Kortus…
… and also played boules, the French lawn bowling game that is the equivalent of bocce in Italy.
The actors enjoyed a homecooked meal and then rewarded their hostess with a private concert with Dom on the piano. Naturally many of their songs were Broadway hits…

The pickleball players are among the brilliant summer actors performing in three Broadway musicals at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts in rotation until the end of August — “Something Rotten!”, “The Wild Party” and “A Gentleman’s Guide to Murder.” Tickets are available at the theatre’s website at pagosacenter.org or by phoning or texting the box office at 970-731-SHOW (7469).

Thingamajig Theatre Company is an award-winning professional live theatre in residence within the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts. Its talented cast and crew come from across the U.S. to produce musicals, comedies and dramas year-round. The theatre was co-founded in 2010 by Tim and Laura Moore, both award-winning actors and directors.

Carole Howard