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Date: 8/30/2021
GRANBY – After a one-year hiatus, Granby’s annual Dino Fest is returning and hoping to provide local families with a day filled with fun, food and smiles.
Chair and organizer of the event Dennis Doucette said cancelling the event in 2020 “was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.” He said, “Dino Fest is my baby, to have to cancel it last year – I had to go through the Board of Health. It was iffy, we had to cancel. It really bothered me a lot.”
Prior to becoming the Dino Fest, the event used to be called the Granby Arts, Crafts and Music Fest. Doucette said the fest took place for nearly 30 years when it was placed before him. “The people that organized it got too old, so it went dormant for maybe a couple of years. When it came on my desk and I found they wanted to cancel the event, I said ‘no, let’s not do that, let’s change it and make something new,’” he said. “I had a blank piece of paper, an overdrawn checking account and a pat on the back.”
This year’s fest, Doucette said, would be host to a variety of activities, vendors food and games for all to enjoy. Such events include an apple pie baking contest, chili cook off, limbo dance, dino dance, pie eating contest, three-legged races, tug of war, raffles, an open mic, games for children, antique cars, antique trucks, antique tractors, the Pinewood Derby race track, the Boy Scout climbing wall, pumpkin painting, performances by marching bands and a four-mile walk/run.
Doucette said in the past the walk/run has been a steeple run “to go to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.” However, the date of this year’s Dino Fest marks the 20-year anniversary of the tragic events of Sept. 11. As a result, he decided to host the four-mile walk which he is calling Step Out for Those who Stepped Up. He explained this year’s walk will benefit an organization called Tunnel to Towers in addition to local food pantries.
He explained the organization helps not only first responders who were on-site the day of Sept. 11, but also veterans who enlisted in the years following the tragic event. “They supply monies or pay off student loans or mortgages or medical bills for first responders and families and vets from the 2001 event. Not only do they cover firemen, police department and EMS, they cover veterans that come from that,” he said.
Doucette added that the organization doesn’t just assist those in New York City, but across the country. The walk costs $15 and the donation of a nonperishable food item, and will take place rain or shine. Applications for the walk can be found on the Dino Fest Facebook page. The walk begins at 9 a.m. starting and ending at the Church of Christ, Congregational on 235 State St. in Granby and includes the cost of a t-shirt.
Additionally, he said there would be a commemoration in honor of the anniversary of the tragic event. “This year is the 20th anniversary of that memorial, epic day. So we have invited all the local towns first responders,” he said, adding that he hoped for members of local towns EMS, firefighters and police force to attend the event.
After the commemoration event, he said he was hoping for first responders to take part in tug of war. “We’re hoping for maybe a friendly challenge of tug-of-war between Holyoke and Chicopee or Granby and Belchertown,” he said.
Doucette said he tries to run the event “like one big family reunion.” He said, “Even if you don’t know someone, you’ll have a good time.”
He said in addition to a host of vendors who will be present at the event, there will also be some informational booths run by local churches, the Granby Historical Society and the Department Child and Family Services to “promote foster services.” Doucette said while the walk begins at 9 a.m., the fest will officially kick off at 10 a.m. with a blessing from local priests and an American Indian.
While there is currently an indoor mask mandate in the town of Granby, he said when speaking to Reminder Publishing there were no restrictions planned for the event due to it being an outdoor event. He said, however, tables near the food booth would be socially distanced and encouraged people to “bring a mask” in case the mandate changed.
While most activities do not require a pre-registration, he said some events such those participating in the walk/run and vendors should aim to contact him prior to the event at dennis.boucette@rocketmail.com or by calling the church at 467-9742.
Doucette said he was excited to be at the fest this year and to see all the families. “Come on in with hugs and smiles in mind, enjoy the day and pray for a nice, clear, sunshine day,” he said.?The event will take place rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Town Commons.
More information can be found online at http://www.churchofchristgranbyma.org/ on the Dino Fest Facebook page.