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Selma tourism advisory lays out weeklong plan, budget priorities for 50th Railroad Days
Summary
The Tourism Advisory Board discussed a seven-day Railroad Days program — including a downtown-focused route, stages, carnival, car and tractor shows, pickleball tournament, vendor markets, and fireworks — and reviewed budget lines for amusement reserves, entertainment and marketing ahead of a January council presentation.
The Town of Selma Tourism Advisory Board spent the Dec. 19 special meeting developing a detailed seven-day program and budget priorities for the town’s upcoming 50th Railroad Days celebration.
Committee members and visitors-bureau staff described a multi-day festival that would move attendees between the Depot and downtown via a trackless train, open the caboose, stage performances at multiple locations, host a car-and-tractor show, run a pickleball tournament with playoffs, and provide family-oriented activities including a kids zone, art contests and a commemorative wine-glass item tied to a Monday wine-walk concept. The board emphasized distributing activity and vendors along Railroad Street to connect the Depot and downtown businesses.
Committee members discussed logistics and funding. Donna said the visitor-bureau packet includes a carnival/amusement reserve line (committee discussion mentioned a reserve figure in the tens of thousands and a working number around $75,000), an entertainment line (committee discussion referenced roughly $65,000 before reallocations), a sound-production estimate near $15,000, and a miscellaneous marketing allocation near $26,000. Donna and other participants said some of these amounts would be adjusted before the materials are presented to town council.
The board debated programming timing to get better attendance and avoid large mid-day lulls. Members proposed moving some paid headline entertainment from the hottest part of Saturday to evening hours and using uplighting, shaded seating and permanent downtown sound infrastructure to improve the audience experience. Several members said bands playing in the midday heat in prior years drew small crowds relative to cost; one member recommended saving larger entertainment expenditures for nighttime programming when attendance is likeliest.
Event logistics discussed included charging vendor fees on a per-half-day or per-day basis, using the Harrison Center and other indoor locations as overflow or shuttle destinations for large indoor exhibits (such as a train show), arranging shuttle pickup points and parking, and coordinating with public safety for traffic and crowd management. The committee also proposed contests and nostalgic activities (tomato/melon contests, antique appraisal area, mascot appearances, soapbox/soap-car shows, and a possible “train garden” display) intended to draw families and return visitors for the 50th anniversary.
The board agreed to finalize the schedule, obtain performer and vendor quotes, pursue sponsorships and bring a consolidated budget and sponsorship package to Town Council in early January. The committee scheduled a special meeting in early January at 9 a.m. to prepare materials for council review.
