First planning meeting for Long Meddowe Days scheduled for Jan. 20

Date: 1/18/2010

Jan. 18, 2010

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



LONGMEADOW - Benjamin Craft, a member of the town's Historical Society, describes Long Meddowe Days as an event that touches everyone in Longmeadow.

"There are no social boundaries," Craft said. "You see everyone there - your family, your friends, your neighbors. There's no other event that brings together as many Longmeadow residents."

That's why Craft is urging those interested in supporting the 2010 celebration of Long Meddowe Days to attend a meeting of the festival's committee. The meeting is scheduled for Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Low Room of Storrs Library.

This is Craft's second year serving on the committee for Long Meddowe Days and he said he's looking for others to follow him and "take the plunge" of volunteering to pull the event together.

"Volunteering is a way to put your stamp on a truly unique event," Craft explained. "And it's not a huge commitment. It's one or two hours a month until we get down to crunch time."

He said last year's Long Meddowe Days was a tremendous success, but it was because of a lot of work from a few volunteers. He's hoping for more participation from younger volunteers this year, especially high schoolers.

The theme for this year's festival is "Something Old, Something New," and Craft said he would love to see a lot of new faces to focus on the latter half of the theme.

"We won't completely change it. We'll keep all the things that people love," Craft told Reminder Publications, "but I also want to inject some new life into [the festival]."

One way he plans to revitalize Long Meddowe Days is to schedule a community service event the Saturday morning of the festival. Craft said it would most likely be a beautification project for the town, but he's open to other suggestions.

"There's opportunities in a lot of different areas," he stated. "The more people that volunteer, the bigger and easier it will be."

Craft also wants to see more participation from volunteers this year and in the future so Long Meddowe Days doesn't meet the same end Wilbraham's Peach Festival did.

"You never want to see family-friendly events in that situation," he said of the demise of the Peach Festival.

This year will mark the 31st celebration of Long Meddowe Days, which will take place May 22 and 23. The festival is the biggest fundraiser of the Longmeadow Historical Society, which supports the collections at the Storrs House as well as the house itself.

"You can't put a price on the history of our town," Craft said. "The history of Longmeadow is nothing short of remarkable, and I want [Long Meddowe Days] to be a celebration of that."

Those who cannot attend the meeting on Jan. 20 are invited to e-mail Craft at benjamincraft@gmail.com for more information.