When those before us were carrying the mantel of organizing community events we had the fair every summer which included a carnival, there was an Easter egg hunt in the park sponsored by the Optimist Club, and there were always bake sales and other fundraisers for the clubs at school. As the generation before us has passed on or retired from organizing these events, many have tried to pick up and continue it on, but they have struggled. Most of us work full time, and finding the time or energy to take on the extra responsibility is hard or they think someone will do it.
Carrie and Kitty realizing the enormity of the endeavor and sought to find other people to help with the planning. Current committee members include Carrie Emerson, Kitty Likes, Cindy Wade, Annie Johnson, Ashley Carter, and Jessica McCann. We also have the support of Mandie Litton who has taken on the task of coming up with free activities and games for the kids.
We also wanted to provide opportunities for our small businesses, local vendors, student organizations, and other community organizations to make some money for their groups, or others to bring information about their organizations and the services they can provide to the families in our community.
We have worked diligently to find sponsors to offset the cost of bringing these activities to our community. Sponsors are recognized on a banner that is displayed at the festival. We have also started sponsor highlights on our Facebook page-AC Saturday Street Festivals.
To date we are partnering with the Appleton City Rural Fire Department who provide food in the evenings to help them raise money to update their equipment, AC Landmark Restoration on the upcoming Christmas in the Country event on December 7, 2024, and Second Saturdays, giving all the groups more options.
Our desire is to bring the community, committees, and groups together to bring more to our town.
AC Saturday Street Festivals would like to partner with other groups in the community to provide the opportunity for the community to come together to provide entertainment and activities for the families in our community at least once a month.
We would like to work with others to bring a carnival back to town. We are working on bringing the circus back to town on a rotating basis every 2 years. But all this takes time, commitment, and hard work.
Many hands make light work. In other words, the more people who will work together to make these things happen for our community it will be a lighter workload for all.
Upcoming dates for festivals are November 16, 2024, and December 7th, 2024. We are working to finalize dates for 2025.
If you feel called to help, if you want to partner with the festival committee to bring more to our community, if you want to be a vendor at upcoming festivals, if your organization wants to have a fundraiser, if you want to bring an informational booth, or if you want to become a sponsor for the festival please contact us through our Facebook page AC Saturday Street Festivals, email us at acsaturdaystreetfestivals@gmail.com, email or call Carrie Emerson at 660-464-4182, Kitty Likes at by_kitty@yahoo.com, Cindy Wade at 660-492-3806, Ashley Carter at 417-309-3803 or Jessica McCann 816-894-5804.
