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Warsaw may soon be saying goodbye to Downtown Days and the Balloonfest.
Warsaw Parks Activities Director Andy McCleary presented his idea to the Park Board Tuesday of combining the two festivals. McCleary said he and Downtown Days coordinator Paula Bowman decided to do away with Downtown Days and Balloonfest to develop a new celebration called the City of Lakes Festival.
McCleary said he and Bowman have several reasons for doing away with the two festivals. McCleary said the only thing keeping Balloonfest alive is the classic rock concert, and there are no more balloons.
Downtown Days has been a success, McCleary said. However, according to Bowman, there is a struggle with getting enough electricity for all the vendors and there are problems with the downtown businesses when everything is blocked off for the three-day festival.
McCleary presented the idea of the City of Lakes Festival. This would be a three-day festival held in Central Park. The classic rock concert would still happen. However, the car show would no longer be an event.
McCleary gave the board several things to think about. One would be the $1,000 fee for use of Central Park. McCleary asked the board to think about waiving that fee. There is also the issue of electrical power in the park. Bowman wants to bring the approximately 75 vendors and crafters of Downtown Days to the new festival. McCleary asked the board if they would accept Bowman's seeking extra power from NIPSCO to accommodate the vendors and crafters.
Parks Department Director Jon Garber recommended the board consider the option of the City of Lakes Festival. Because a quorum of board members was not present, no action could be taken. Garber set a tentative meeting for Dec. 12 at 5:15 p.m. to vote on the issue.
The Warsaw Parks Board members are: president Toby Sumpter, vice president John Sadler, Don Clemens, Bob Richmond, school board representative Cathy Folk and Jeff Grose, Warsaw City Council representative.
