Forest Heights Blueberry Festival Set for June 26
The first-ever Forest Heights Blueberry Festival is scheduled for Saturday, June 26, 2021!
The purpose of the festival is to continue developing the Forest Heights community and culture, and to raise funds to install more community blueberry bushes and signage next fall/winter.
We’re still in need of volunteers and certain types of equipment. So please check out the plans below and reach out to the appropriate organizers, if you want to volunteer or participate. Also, while we’re trying to keep the event organizing as simple as possible, some other events (in addition to the ones below) have been suggested. If you have an idea for an event that you’d like to bring to life as part of the festival, go for it! Just reach out to the other organizers, so we can coordinate.
Morning Pet Parade (Revised)
We’ve decided not to do a 5K and fun run this year because of the cost of acquiring insurance for the event. However, if the festival is a success, we’ll reconsider it for next year. Instead, we’ll have a pet parade. If it’s not too hot to dress up your pet, go for it! We’ll play some tunes and strut our stuff with the fir, feather and scaled family members. Please have all dogs on leashes, and if you know your pet can’t handle it (like mine), leave them at home. Philip Bishop (pwalkerbishop@gmail.com) is going to help organize the event. We’ll announce the exact start and race time, soon!
Needs:
water team
participants
cheering onlookers
Afternoon Blueberry Cook-off
Blueberry pie. Blueberry beer. Blueberry chutney. Blueberry [fill in the blank]. If you have a unique or amazing recipe that includes blueberries, this is your chance to be recognized as the first-ever Forest Heights Master of Berries. Contact Steve Sacco (sdsacco@excite.com) to get involved!
Needs:
Panel of judges
scoring guidelines
table and chairs
participants!
Evening Blueberry Jam Concert
From 6-9 p.m. we’ll have an outdoor show featuring musicians from throughout the neighborhood. We’ve heard from lots of interested musicians who don’t currently have an active group. Now is the time to find a couple other musicians in the ‘hood and put together a few songs! We want this to be a diverse and fun evening, and perfection is not required! Claire Campbell (agoldensummer@yahoo.com) is booking the performance slots and Lisa Anger (LisaAnger@gmail.com) is coordinating logistics.
Needs:
16’ to 20’ foot trailer to use as a stage
electricity
musicians (solos, duos, trios — maybe a four-piece, if you’re not too loud)
a few folks to help set up and breakdown the stage
Where Will This Be Held?
The idea is to center the festival in one of the circles or cul-de-sacs within the neighborhood. Our first choice is the circle at Holly Lane Ct. which has a nice, flat grassy middle, is deep in the neighborhood, and should have very little traffic. But we need to talk with the neighbors and address any concerns they may have. If you live there, please get in touch!
Fundraising
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, the idea is to raise money to purchase more community blueberry bushes for the neighborhood and pay for some signs that tell people what it’s all about. All of the festival events will be free to attend and participate, but we will have suggested donations. And people who make the donations will receive a t-shirt that’s being designed by artist and illustrator, Jacob Wenzka, who lives in Forest Heights’ sister neighborhood, Hampton Park. We’re planning to do pre-orders on the shirts through local business, Satisfactory Printing. More details to come!
If you have any questions, concerns or ideas, you can also get in touch with me at Bart.King@4newgrowth.com, or by calling 706-340-3140.
