Commission praises Newcastle Days but flags vendor, logistics and waste issues

Chair Nathan Sticks called the Community Activities Commission meeting to order and opened the evening’s substantive discussion with a debrief of Newcastle Days, the city’s annual community event. Commissioners and staff agreed the event drew large attendance and multiple sponsors, but they identified actionable improvements for next year.

The nut graf: Commissioners said the festival succeeded in attendance and programming — “it was a fantastic event,” one commissioner said — but they urged the parks and events team to address vendor mix, volunteer refreshment logistics, parking/load‑in procedures and single‑use debris before the next festival.

Commissioners and staff described the event layout and vendor allocation process. Events staff said there were roughly 70 booth spaces, of which three were city booths and about 20 were reserved for sponsors; remaining spaces were filled from applicants and a wait list. Staff estimated that approximately 25 percent of applicants were…