2-day event to benefit skate park
It was once called Butler Fall Fest.
Now, Butler community members can enjoy live music, fire performers, food and craft vendors and other activities Sept. 11 and 18 during the county's Community Days.
Because of the lack of funds and volunteers for the annual Fall Festival event, the board of directors decided that the Community Days will replace the yearly event, with hopes to bring the Fall Festival back to Main Street in 2022.
Don Shearer, president of the Butler Fall Festival board, said that conducting the event on Main Street requires a lot of money from sponsors, but unfortunately with the pandemic, sponsorship dropped because of uncertainty.
“We needed as much time to plan the event as we could,” Shearer said. “(With the uncertainty), we reached out to local areas.”
Visit two parks
With the event running from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days, community members can visit Memorial Park, 100 Memorial Drive, on Saturday, and Father Marinaro Park, Kaufman Drive, on Sept. 18.
Proceeds for the second Community Days event will benefit Marinaro park's skate park.
In addition to the vendors and music on Saturday, visitors can view a car cruise with raffle prizes for those who drive in a show car.
On Sept. 18, those comfortable with their skills can participate in a “Skate Jam” competition within the park for cash prizes.
The board donated the funds to the skate park so they could finish the rink.
“Our goal is to be on Main Street, everywhere,” Shearer said. “It's a disappointment to people, we understand that, but we didn't want to go another year without the spirit of the festival, and the smaller events are easier to plan.”
Although the events are more small-scale, that doesn't mean that community spirit isn't high in wake of the changes.“I love any event that highlights the people of the city and the community,” Shearer said. “The smaller events and the Community Days are a different way of highlighting the city and its parks. (Maybe people) will realize, 'Oh I forgot this park was here.'”The event planned each year is entirely nonprofit, accepting volunteers from the community to help build and organize the day. However, this year, the Community Days volunteers will consist of a skeleton crew of the board.Normally, with larger events, organizations are asked to help through social media, and in the future, the board plans to create a position entirely based on finding volunteers.“Right now, (the most difficult thing) is finding vendors,” Shearer said. “There are so many events that are taking place over the weekend, and since we are downsized, we are finding it harder to fill that spot. That's why we are having these other things, because this year isn't about the vendors, it's about having the community spirit that weekend.”Before COVID-19 hit, Shearer was loosely affiliated with Fall Fest, but took over the president position in January of 2020.
“The goal of these events is to drive commerce downtown, but overall it's about coming together and seeing the community spirit,” Shearer said.If anybody in the community or around the area believes they can add something to the event, Shearer encourages them to reach out to the Butler Fall Festival Facebook page.“Anything that encourages community spirit, we are open to,” Shearer said. “We want a fun experience for the community.”Using the Community Days this year as a chance to regroup, the board hopes to be back on Main Street in 2022 with a new focus on the vendors and how Fall Fest is perceived by the public.
What: Butler Community DaysWhere: Memorial Park and Father Marinaro ParkWhen: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 11 at Memorial Park and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 18 at Father Marinaro Park.Website: https://butlerfallfestival.com/
