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Mayor plans next Fest

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE The first Fest for All is now over, but the planning on the next one has just begun.

"For a first time event, it couldn't have been any better," Mayor Michael Bissonnette said.

Bissonnette said there were an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 people who attended the three-day event from June 30 through July 2 at Szot Park.

Staging a community-wide event was one of the items people spoke about to Bissonnette when he was campaigning for mayor. He spent much of the weekend at the festival talking to people about their reactions to the event.

He knows the food vendors were happy as many ran out of inventory by Saturday night. He said the four or five vendors approached organizers about participating in next year's festival.

Next year, he would suggest moving the 50 or so picnic tables in the park so they would be closer to the food vendors. Bissonnette also would like to see a dance floor installed.

He would like to utilize off-site parking areas and shuttle busses better next year as well.

He would also like to seek more private and corporate support for the event, but he does not want to expand the revenue from the event by hosting carnival rides. Bissonnette said that rides would prove expensive to many families and would take money away from the other vendors. Instead he hopes to have youth groups organize more activities for children.

He noted that the philosophy of the event was not to "price gouge" and illustrated it by saying the festival sold 6,000 bottles of water at only $1 a bottle far less than one would pay at other similar events.

He thanked Robert Liswell and the other volunteers who made the event a reality.

Residents have suggested a Polish band for next year and there has been an offer to conduct a Mass at the park as well.

People who would like to volunteer or make suggestion for next year should call the mayor's Office at 594-1500.