Venetian Festival Co-Founder Ralph Kitron Passes Away

Venetian Festival co-founder Ralph Kitron has passed away. He was in his mid 70s and died in St. Joseph today. Along with being instrumental in the now-defunct Venetian Festival, Kitron built the diorama of the old Silver Beach Amusement Park that is currently part of Silver Beach Carousel. Known around the Carousel as "Mr. Wizard," he was also a drag racer. Kitron had three children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A tribute on the Silver Beach Carousel webpage called Kitron quote, "a boy at heart - a man who, like a cat, has lived through more near-deaths from strokes and throat cancer than most." Funeral arrangements have not been publicized.