Tricentennial committee advances community barbecue and music festival planning, seeks leads and volunteers

The Tricentennial Committee discussed plans May 7 to produce a community barbecue and music festival as part of the 300th celebration and sought volunteer leaders and logistical leads for venue, parking and programming.

Committee members said the festival could feature local musicians, student performers and food trucks. One member suggested recruiting local band leaders, noting Jim Blasky and a network of town musicians, and proposed auditions to select performers and broaden appeal: “Anytime you involve kids performing…it brings parents, and it brings grandparents.”

The committee debated potential venues and parking constraints. Members raised Saint Mark’s Field, Trotter (middle school area), Fay field and “the big lower fields” as possibilities; concerns included parking and construction at the middle school in coming years. Committee members recommended locating the festival off the downtown center to avoid interfering with emergency access.

Several volunteers offered event-planning assistance and fundraising experience. A volunteer with a background in event planning said she could attend planning meetings and serve as a “fix it” resource, and the committee discussed fundraising options including vendor partnerships and raffle formats. The committee said a working-group lead for the barbecue and music festival will make final venue and programming decisions and will coordinate volunteer recruitment and vendor outreach.