Community events organizers report stronger sponsorships, set dates for Community Day, Fall Festival and car show

Organizers meeting to plan neighborhood events said sponsorships and vendor signups put the fall festival in a stronger position than a year ago, and they confirmed dates and logistics for a slate of summer and autumn events.

Wendy Johnson, a board member who presented the finance update, said 115 vendors had registered for the fall festival with a total fee target of $15,000 and that $12,625 had been received so far, leaving about $2,450 outstanding. “We have received $18,550 in sponsorships to date,” Johnson said, “which is $3,150 over what we got last year.” She called that a good early sign for the event’s budget.

The meeting focused heavily on Community Day planning, with organizers confirming participating vehicles and exhibitors for a touch‑a‑truck attraction and a slate of family activities. Stephanie Gee reported that Richie Metals, local fire departments (one truck from each department), the police department (marked vehicle and possibly an ATV) and other vendors have committed to appear. Organizers discussed adding a garbage truck and attempting to secure a school bus if space allows. Cindy (media volunteer) was listed to coordinate publicity and to share truck timing information with the bus garage.

Food and attractions for community events were also finalized in broad strokes: Glenn will run grills and organizers plan to serve burgers, hot dogs, nachos and pretzels. Established attractions include a mini‑golf course, an obstacle course and a DJ; several lawn games and children’s entrepreneur vendors were also discussed. Organizers retained responsibility for supplier invoices and concessions inventory and agreed to coordinate a shopping trip to consolidate purchases across events.

Fundraising and volunteer operations drew detailed planning. Organizers said they sold roughly 100 of 250 raffle ‘duck’ tickets to date, leaving about 150 to sell. They expect senior‑center volunteers, high‑school students and several individual volunteers to staff sales and concessions; Sean and Glenn were identified as points of contact for volunteer coordination.

Entertainment scheduling and contracts for the Fall Festival were assigned to staff: several acts (including Black Dog Hollow, Dancing Queen and Garrett Tano) were directed to Teresa for contracts and time slots. World of Animals, a traveling animal presentation, was identified as a popular attraction and organizers agreed to reserve a canopy and fit its set between band changes.

Other calendar items confirmed at the meeting included a car show on Aug. 16 (8 a.m.–3 p.m.) and Trail of Treats on Oct. 24 (11 a.m.–1 p.m.). Simply Christmas remains under discussion; Diane, a guest from Venice Church who described organizing small caroling gatherings with cocoa and hot dogs, asked organizers to avoid scheduling the church event on the same weekend as the group’s holiday activities and said she would follow up by email.

The group also reviewed sponsor signage, directional signage for the park, mascot/character scheduling, and the logistics of lighting displays for the holidays. Organizers said they have plentiful holiday lights and plan to begin installations after Thanksgiving. Several action items were set: follow up on outstanding vendor contracts and band confirmations, finalize pavilion and parking plans (including notifying an adjacent Dollar General for overflow parking), and set firm dates for Simply Christmas at the next meeting.

No formal votes or motions were recorded in the transcript; the meeting proceeded as a planning and coordination session with assignments for follow‑up.