Sesquicentennial meeting nets little progress
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — What happens when you hold a meeting but only a handful of people show up?
You go to Plan B — whatever that is.
The Colfax Commercial Club held a planning meeting for the Colfax Sesquicentennial in the Colfax Municipal Building auditorium August 6.
Commercial club members had hoped to get an idea of who might be willing to help plan the sesquicentennial celebration for Colfax scheduled for July 17 through July 20 next summer.
So far, the Colfax Commercial Club has raised $1,900 and has made a $900 down payment to book The Dweebs for a street dance on Saturday, July 19, 2014.
In addition to The Dweebs, entertainment downtown July 19, 2014, will include other local musical talent, contests, a parade, a car show, a tractor show, concessions, chicken dinner, a variety of games, and historical displays.
That is, the entertainment will include those activities and more if a sufficient number of people are willing to volunteer their time to help pull it off.
Scott Gunnufson, village president, noted that while more than a dozen committees are needed to plan Colfax’s 150th birthday party, some committees will only need two or three people and will require only a minimum of planning.
Committees that are in need of chair persons and volunteers include:
• Communication committee — to advertise the event with television appearances, social media, flyers, newspaper articles and news releases, radio interviews and banners.
• Grill committee — chicken dinner, bratwurst and hot dogs.
• Concession committee — to plan for concessions, vendor fees and set-up areas.
• Transportation committee — to plan for shuttle service from the fairgrounds and other parking areas around town.
• Display committee — to plan displays of historic clothing and arrange for historical timelines in the downtown area.
• Car show committee — to plan the car show and tractor show, set up areas and other logistics; perhaps also to plan for participation in the parade.
• Memorabilia committee — buttons, t-shirts, coins, posters.
• Tournament committee — to plan a ball tournament for one or more days during the celebration.
• Games committee — scavenger hunt; water fight; jumping gym; petting zoo; pedal tractor pull.
• Fund-raising committee — solicit funds either directly or through the sale of various items to fund the celebration and advertising for the event.
• Logistics committee — location of events and vendors; utility availability; set-up for the street dance and other entertainment; outdoor seating; disaster management plan (in case of severe weather).
• Contest committee — to plan a selection of contests, such as a baking contest, beard contest, raffles, hot-dog eating contest.
Activities listed under the committees are only suggestions, Gunnufson said.
Once the committees are formed, committee members are free to formulate their own ideas and to coordinate how those ideas are carried out, he said.
The Colfax Commercial Club is open to anyone who has a tie to Colfax (business owner; employees of businesses; shoppers; graduates of Colfax high school; residents of the village or the surrounding townships).
The mission of the Colfax Commercial Club is to promote the village of Colfax.
The Colfax Commercial Club meets next on August 22.
If you would be interested in helping with Colfax’s 150th birthday party next July, contact the village clerk’s office at (715) 962-3311; Mark Johnson at Colfax Arts and Antique Mall (715) 704-6086; Annie Schieber at a Little Slice of Italy at (715) 962-4444; or LeAnn Ralph at the Colfax Messenger (715) 962-3535.