As the weather begins to turn, and the leaves begin to fall, Our Towne Mechanicsburg would like to take a moment to reflect back, and look forward, and hopes to hear from everyone in the Village.
This summer saw the biggest Summer Celebration yet, along with perhaps the best weather we’ve ever had. The day included the return of Tractor Pulls to Mechanicsburg, thanks to the tremendous efforts of Dave and Tami McGuire. The Ohio Village Muffins made another visit to the Burg for a vintage baseball game against a team of Mechanicsburg ‘all-stars’. Many of the traditional Summer Celebration events returned as well, and the evening concluded with a great fireworks display at the park.
As our thoughts turn to Summer Celebration 2017, we want to hear from the community. With a successful tractor pull event, the traditional Summer Celebration and fireworks and ever-growing youth baseball tournaments, we are considering whether it is best to combine some or all of these events into one mega-festival, or hold separate events throughout the summer.
Our Towne’s website includes a public poll requesting your input on which of these options is most attractive to the residents of the Village, including:
1 – A 3-day festival including a youth baseball tournament and Muffins game, Summer Celebration and fireworks, and a Sunday tractor pull
2 – The same Saturday tractor pull and Summer Celebration festival with fireworks that was presented in 2016, but with youth tournaments and the Muffins game on other weekends
3 – Separate events on weekends throughout the summer, separating the traditional Summer Celebration, a stand-alone tractor pull and youth baseball tournaments with a Muffins game
I would like to add my personal thanks to all those that provided a significant commitment of time and money to make this year’s Summer Celebration a tremendous success. They include Tim’s Towing and the Cassady Family, Dave and Tami McGuire, McGuire Trucking & Agricultural Services, The Dairy Parlor, Mechanicsburg Sand & Gravel, festival committee members Mayor Greg Kimball, Scott Salee, DeAnn Salee, Tina Johnson and Tammie Beers, the Mechanicsburg Public Library, Mechanicsburg’s Police and Fire departments, the Village of Mechanicsburg, Goshen Park’s Board and staff, Mechanicsburg Schools, including Paul Boggs, Coby Wilhelm, and Superintendent Danielle Prohaska, and many others.
In the meantime, our focus turns to Christmas in the Village, scheduled for Saturday, December 10, 2016. We anticipate a similar lineup of events as in prior years, but we do need help from the public to make it happen. We are in need of a few volunteers to staff the craft vendor event at the Masonic Temple for a 2 hour shift, and for other activities around town. Or, you can donate a basket filled with goodies for the annual Basket Raffle, which helps to fund the fireworks during Summer Celebration.
Our Towne is still seeking vendors for the annual craft fair at Christmas in the Village. If you are interested, and to get an application, please call or text 614-584-2467, email Tina at [email protected] or visit the Christmas in the Village page on Facebook.
Our Towne is also actively looking for parade participants for this year’s festival. If you are interested in participating in the December 10 parade, or volunteering throughout the day, please send an email to [email protected] or call/text 614-579-2120.
If you are a church, business or civic organization in town and are planning specials and activities for December 10, please send a note to Scott Salee at [email protected] so we can include you in the promotional materials for Christmas in the Village.
In the meantime, Our Towne Mechanicsburg is proud to recognize other projects around town that have helped beautify the Village. In 2016, Champion Feed & Pet maintained the flower pots in the center of town, while Dusty Hurst and April Huggins-Davis took care of the concrete planters around town. DeAnn and Scott Salee continue to keep the Gazebo and surrounding landscaping beautiful.
And, Our Towne is very excited to unveil the completion of the new community signs on State Routes 4 and 29, after the Welcome to Mechanicsburg purple signs were installed recently. Our Towne would like to thank the sponsors that helped fund this project, and whose names are on the bottom fourth of each sign, as well as the work, support and patience of Wibright Services, LLC, W Productions, Roger Snyder, the Village and Goshen Township Zoning Boards, the Village of Mechanicsburg and the property owners who were willing to share a spot on or near their land for these signs (Ron Welch, Dave Kehl, Chuck & Sue Hickey and Champion Feed & Pet).
The middle portion of these signs is reserved for community and civic organizations, such as the American Legion, Lions Club, Mothers Memorial, etc. If your group is interested in discussing the placement of a non-commercial sign, please contact Dan at 614-579-2120.
Finally, Our Towne Mechanicsburg is currently a small but dedicated group of current and former residents who work hard to organize the annual festivals and other projects. And, while funding is always a challenge, our greatest need continues to be additional volunteers. Without additional volunteers willing to play small but important roles, the two annual festivals we have come to enjoy are at risk in 2017 and beyond. Please email [email protected] or [email protected] to learn how you can help! You’ll never be asked to do more than you are willing, but lots of small efforts make all the difference.
