50th
Weekly Update 10/1/2023 to 10/7/2023 #193
Fifty years of a festival has taken many board members over the years to get it going and keep it going. Before I wander through the years though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
I started my week attending the Mayor’s Institute hosted by Accelerate Indiana Municipalities. With topics from Comprehensive Community Wealth to tourism and everything in between, I always come back with a couple pages of notes that I often explore deeper over the next few days. Some of those ideas become new programs like our therapy dogs for first responders that came from a talk by Mayor Snow in Richmond a few sessions ago. This round already has us exploring big ideas to see what sticks for the continued growth of our community. Thank you, AIM, for the program, and I look forward to more over the coming years.
This week, I had a chance to sit down with partners from around the region to continue the discussion of how recovery is possible and continue to work to fill in the gaps that were identified through the grant work over the last couple of years. As we explore new possibilities I can’t help but think anything is doable if we find ways to come together across city limits and county lines. Will we see recovery housing be a reality in Seymour in 2024? With continued work and a little luck I believe we can fill that gap while working on others along the way. Thank you to everyone who has been involved along the way. Because of you we are making progress.
Back to the 50th Oktoberfest. Somewhere in the early 70s, a group started talking about hosting a German festival in Seymour. As the roots started to grow I am sure there were times that it didn’t seem like it was going to happen. Now, we sit here reading this the morning after the 50th festival and reflect on another good year. Was it perfect? No! The weather created problems in a few areas over the weekend. Board members worked on their chosen areas to bring forth the best event possible. Each year you see some new food vendors arrive and occasionally an old favorite retires. This year, one that sticks out to me was Pakalana’s Poke Bowls with their spicy Hawaiian entree. The list of returning favorites is too great to try to pin it to one or two so I will just let your mouth water from your own memories. What about the ride selection from Luehrs’ Ideal Rides? A new ride made its debut here in Seymour all the way from Italy. Classics like the bumper cars kept the smiles going for days even with the rain causing some issues on Thursday night. If I heard correctly, our ride area is one of the smallest they work with the entire season from February to October, yet they still try to pack as much in as possible and change it up to keep it fun for our kids and kids at heart. They also provide a quiet time on Friday each year where schools from around the region bring special needs students and helpers out for a good time without all the flashing lights, noise, and large crowds that are the norm on a regular night. The smiles during this event are priceless, and Zabrina and I have enjoyed it the last few years. Thank you to anyone who has served our community via the Oktoberfest board over the years. With your hard work in a job that doesn’t pay anymore than just smiles and a t-shirt, you have made an event that gives family and friends a chance to come together each year. I will leave you with a Henry Ford quote for the day, "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."