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SYRACUSE -ÊSyracuse Park Department is partnering with the Wawasee Flotilla committee to expand the Flotilla into a three-day festival.
The festival will be July 4-6 and will feature various vendors and entertainment, park department superintendent Mike Hixenbaugh told the Syracuse Town Council Tuesday. He said the purpose of the festival is to encourage people to come to Syracuse and to have a community celebration.
There will be eight vendors along Long Drive during the festival that will sell fruit smoothies, sandwiches, fajita sandwiches, hot dogs, elephant ears, cotton candy, popcorn, sno-cones and flotilla merchandise.
Activities at Lakeside Park will include a small, activity and game area including Twin Spin, a moonwalk castle, an obstacle course, climbing wall, paintball shooting gallery and a large inflatable slide.
The schedule of events for July 4 are: food and games, Lakeside Park, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Melo Airs and Grassy Creek Cloggers, Lakeside Park gazebo, 11 a.m. to noon; square and line dancers, Lakeside Park pavilion, 5 to 7 p.m.; Lake Area Community Band, Lakeside Park Pavilion, 7 to 9 p.m.; and fireworks, Lakeside Park, dusk. The Rotary Club may have its chicken barbecue at the park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For July 5, events will be: food and games, Lakeside Park, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Lion's Fish Fry, Syracuse Community Center, 4 to 7 p.m.; and Flotilla parade, Lake Wawasee, 8:30 p.m.
On July 6, the events will be: Syracuse-Turkey Creek Fire Department pork chop and chicken barbecue, Fire and EMS department, 10 a.m.; food and games, Lakeside Park, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Flotilla road race, Lakeside Park, 8 a.m.; Flotilla road race awards, 9:30 a.m. at the pavilion; antique wood boat rally, Lake Syracuse and Lakeside Park, noon; fireworks, Lake Wawasee, dusk.
Another three-day event is scheduled for Oct. 2-5, Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steve Hite told the council. During those days, the traveling Vietnam War Memorial will be in Syracuse. Hite said they will have a parade and a vigil. All the area's American Legions and Veterans of Foreign Wars will be contacted to see the war memorial and participate in a memorial service.
Hite said the three-day event will be a very big event for Syracuse and the local schools are "very excited" about the opportunities the visiting memorial presents.
On July 27, town marshal Tom Perzanowski told the council, the Dribble Team Tour will stop in Syracuse at Lakeside Park. There will be a ceremony, guest speakers and memorabilia, all to promote the Men's Basketball World Championships. More information will be forthcoming, he said. Perzanowski applied for Syracuse to be one of the tour's stops and the town was accepted.
In other business, the town council:
• Approved an ordinance modifying a previous ordinance to provide all current full-time town employees with a minimum $10,000 of life insurance at the town's expense.
• Approved an additional appropriation ordinance for $10,000 for cumulative storm sewer improvements. The council also approved for $6,558 of the appropriation to pay for work already completed.
• Approved moving the 2003 budget workshop from June 25 at 6 p.m. to July 9 at 6 p.m. If needed, a second budget workshop will be July 23 at 6 p.m.
• Approved town manager Brian Redshaw to purchase a hard drive for his office computer for $1,879.
• Approved Perzanowski to spend $3,976 for six new computers for the police department from Global Government Education Solutions.
• Fire Department Chief Mickey Scott said the new ambulance will be delivered Aug. 8, give or take a week.
• Public Works Superintendent Clint Houseworth reported the Wawasee Heights lift station replacement project is completed.
• Accepted the bid from George Kountoupes Painting Co., Michigan, for painting the outside of the water tower and cathodic protection for $39,600.
• Approved for Houseworth to spend $4,475 for a skid steer loader from Gregg Equipment Co. for the street department.
Members of the Syracuse Town Council present at the meeting Tuesday were chairwoman Barbara Carwile, Paul Stoelting and Bill Hane. Not present were Mike Davis and Carol Koble. The council meets at 7 p.m. in the town hall on the third Tuesday of every month.
