A new drone exhibition to celebrate the nation’s birthday will wow Windham residents at this year’s Summerfest.
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| The Windham Police Honor Guard will lead the annual Summerfest Parade, kicking off a day of fun at Windham High School on Saturday, June 20. Parade participants will line up at 11 a.m. at Windham Public Works and the parade route follows School Road to Windham Center Road before turning right onto G\Fray Road and proceeding to Educational Way. COURTESY PHOTO |
The organizing committee chose the theme of “Sun, Stars and Stripes” to blend the annual event with the country’s 250th birthday this year. The day’s motto is “Bringing Unity to the Community,” and the organizing committee is hopeful the event will inspire people to get to know their neighbors.
“People nowadays don’t know their neighbors,” said Deb Matthews, the chair of the Summerfest committee in her fifth year leading the team organizing the event. “This is a way we can get to know everybody in our community.”
“It’s so important to bring your mom and dad, bring your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews,” she said. “Come and bring unity to our community.”
The parade will begin lining up at 11 a.m. at the Windham Public Works building. It will take Windham Center Road then left onto School Road before turning right onto Gray Road (Route 202) where it will proceed to its end at Educational Way. Awards will be presented in several categories, including best illustration of the event’s theme and motto.
The Modern Woodsman of America Hometown Hero, Karen Rumo, will be honored in the parade. A member of the Windham Summerfest organizing committee, Rumo is a long-time Windham resident and was selected because of her devotion to giving back to the community.
“Karen is a bright light. She is so generous and so kind and she is a hero,” Matthews said. “She loves our community, she loves giving back, and she loves family. She has the pulse of the community.”
The parade’s Grand Marshal will be Windham High School’s popular Director of Choral Music, Dr. Richard Nickerson, who is retiring this year after nearly 40 years at the school.
Nickerson was shocked when he found out he’d been selected to be honored as the parade’s Grand Marshal.
“I never in a million years thought I would be asked to be the Grand Marshal of a parade,” he said. “This entire year has felt like an out of body experience.”
In addition to being Grand Marshal, Nickerson will also join other local teachers to perform on the Main Stage at 7 p.m. with their band “Cousin Itt.”
The event will formally open at 1 p.m., including the beginning of the entertainment, which will include performances from Andi Fawcett and Doubting Gravity on the Main Stage and Tyler Dhone on the Hall Implement/George Hall Memorial Stage. Phil Smith, a magician who has appeared previously at Summerfest, will be roaming the grounds and performing spontaneously as people gather. Spark You will also be performing at 1 p.m., creating different science experiments to entertain viewers. The Refuge Church will be sponsoring and manning a dozen bounce houses from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“They let all these adorable kids bounce their little hearts out,” Matthews said. “It’s so important to include them and make people aware of these wonderful businesses and organizations that are part of our community.”
The annual Pat Moody Memorial 3v3 Basketball Tournament will begin at 2 p.m., and there will be several rounds of Bingo, hosted by the Lions Club, which will be called by Town Manager Robert Burns, Windham Fire/Rescue Chief Brent Libby, and Summerfest organizing committee member Tom Matthews, who manages all of the day’s entertainment and musical acts.
The drone show will start at 9 p.m. and will be followed by a fireworks display at 9:30 p.m.
There will also be a variety of food available for purchase from non-profit organizations at the event, including Barry’s famous barbeque, chicken, macaroni and cheese and coleslaw, sold by the Windham Snowmobile Drifters, mocktails, walking tacos. Hot dogs, hamburgers, soda and chips will be prepared by non-profit Keeping Kids Safe. The group has been in attendance at the event for a decade, and it provides them with its sole major fundraiser for the year.
“We love the people from Windham,” said Mike O’Neal, founder of Keeping Kids Safe, who is currently seeking sponsors to help support the cost of developing a new app that would provide alerts for missing children and juveniles based on the user’s geolocation, beyond what is available through an Amber Alert, and searching for community partners to join the effort. “The people have embraced Keeping Kids Safe. We’re always packed, and the committee are incredible and amazing people.”
The theme of community runs throughout the day and is evident by both participants and members of the community groups who have booths during the event.
“Windham has gotten much bigger since I started here, but it still has that small town feel where people look out for each other,” Nickerson said. “That’s the wonderful thing about a small-town community.”
Kate Turpen, Board President for the Windham Raymond Pride Planning Committee, echoed the same sentiment when asked why their organization has enjoyed managing a booth at the event for three years. The group will be selling rainbow snow cones this year, which can be fully customized with different colors or flavors.
“It’s a really great opportunity for our community to come together in one place, and to get to see familiar faces having fun,” they said. “It’s really important that families can come and enjoy without a financial barrier.”
Matthews stressed that financial concerns should not prevent people from attending and bringing their families to the free event.
“If you can’t afford to pay, come and play, on me. No charge,” she said. “If you can’t afford to buy food from the non-profits, bring a picnic lunch and sit on the field and enjoy the day for free.”
“It’s so important for us to bring this community together, to share this beautiful community, “Matthews said. “That’s why we work so hard to raise the money we raise. That’s why we work so hard to make sure that everyone understands that this event is free.”
While the town donates money for Summerfest, the organizing committee has fundraised to fully support the event financially and its $40,000 budget. The town Parks and Recreation Department also contributes time and manpower to the event, including Director Linda Brooks who, “brings enlightenment to areas we’re grey on,” Matthews said.
“It’s the committee that’s doing the work,” she said. “We appreciate everything the town does for us. We’re blessed to have the Parks and Recreation Department.”
The event is rain or shine, and Matthews says that in the past, they’ve endured pouring rain, sleet, and thunderstorms to put on the community day.
“It is what it is,” she said, explaining that they’ve only had a few vendors or performers cancel due to weather. “They want to be there. The excitement we all feel on that day really draws them in.”
Volunteers are still needed for the event, for both the organizers and the groups that will have booths to man.
“It’s the problem we’ve discovered – Every organization, non-profit, or business that wants to participate needs volunteers,” Matthews said. “It’s something as small as watching the booth while they take a lunch.”
“We need people to help with the parade and people to just be there to help,” she said. “There’s always a need for bathroom breaks and lunch breaks.”
Anyone interested in volunteering for the Summerfest Committee or looking for more information about the event should visit the Summerfest website at www.WindhamSummerfest.com. <
