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Assistant Managing Editor WILBRAHAM More than 40 residents turned out last Wednesday to fight for the Wilbraham Peach Festival. The crowded Brooks Room at the Wilbraham Public Library served as the venue for the "Save the Festival" meeting hosted by the Wilbraham Community Association (WCA). Chuck Higgins, president of the WCA, who joked he is a Wilbraham transplant by marriage, said the association needs "elbow grease." The meeting kicked off with a video slide of past Peach Festival moments. Higgins said they are looking for volunteers to work two hours or 200 hours. "It's the spirit that we're looking for," Higgins said. Director of Finance Jen Nowak gave a WCA overview that presented a financial picture scarcely known by the general public. "Each festival is a self-funded event. Expenses seem to increase each year, but income does not always follow suit," according to information released by the association. "Running this festival is a constant challenge knowing that many times weather is the deciding factor determining profit or loss each year." The festival has an average of 30,000 - 50,000 attendees over its three-day period. The release went on to state that expenses that occur prior to the festival opening total approximately $70,000. That sum includes items such as insurance, property rental, stage entertainment, advertising, police coverage, electrical work and more. "Before we open the doors we're in the red about $70,000," Nowak said. The WCA needs volunteers to help with community mailings, program booklets, selling raffle tickets, communications, entertainment they could even use a webmaster. Nowak said if residents think a particular position fits their skill set, they should feel free to fill it. There are still plenty of volunteer opportunities for those who do not want to lend their time to the festival itself, since there is so much work that goes into months of preparation prior to the August event. "Thank you for coming," Nowak told the audience. "It's great to see this many people out." Thanks to the 2007 festival, the WCA was able to give out $8,450 worth of grants to town organizations. There have been years in the past when no awards were given. "Where do we go from here?" one audience member asked toward the end of the question and answer period. Higgins said he would encourage residents to think long and hard about getting involved. He explained that what can be worse than having no volunteers at all is having people signing on for projects that they drop later on. Nowak's husband attested to the hard work put in by the core group of WCA members. He said he would love to see new names added to the board. "We can use any talent, anywhere, any time," Higgins added. Helene Pickett has been a WCA member since the festival was founded 24 years ago. She said the festival is a local legacy that lives on in Wilbraham and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The library is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections. Her daughter, Nancy, helped acquire the information that is available on the town at the famed library. Pickett's hopes are that new members will join and learn from existing WCA members, then more people will come along and learn from the additional members, and the cycle "will keep perpetuating." She said the realization that the current members of the WCA may not be able to put on this year's festival was a "hard thing for us to face." Residents can call or e-mail their decision to join by Feb 1. Preparations for the annual Peach Festival begin in February and the deadline will give the WCA a chance to assess whether they are able to host the event after all. For more information on volunteering, visit www.peachfestival.org or call 599-0010. | ||||||
