Back in October, we wrote that the Kiddies Parade, a neighborhood institution for over 70 years, may be in danger of being discontinued in coming years due to lack of support. The parade, run this year by Celebrate Wallingford, is in dire need of both financial support and volunteers. Back in October, they sent postcards to many residents to try to drum up support.
In describing the scope of the need, Blake Garfield (of Bedrooms and More, a major force behind the parade for many years), chairman of Celebrate Wallingford’s board, told us back in November “It costs roughly $10,000 to put on the parade at the scale of years past. I’m hoping to double that figure this year. Those extra funds would mean we can spend on marketing and awards to incentivize marching and building floats for parade participation.” Securing sponsorships from local businesses is particularly difficult now with many shouldering extra costs such as repairing broken windows and most struggling to keep their stores staffed.
We circled back to Blake Garfield to find out where things stand.
We are chipping away at it. Several past sponsors have committed to returning for the upcoming parade. Some community contributions came as a result of your last article (totaling around $670). Thank you very much for that btw.
The Celebrate Wallingford board has established several levels of sponsorship:
- Presenting Sponsor: $3000
- Platinum Sponsor: $2000
- Gold Sponsor: $1500
- Silver Sponsor: $1000
- Supporting Sponsor: $500 and over
- Neighborhood Sponsor: $100 and over
- Parade Pal: $50 and over
Download the Sponsorship Packet here for more information and to see the benefits of each sponsorship type. Contributions can also be made online through the Celebrate Wallingford website.
Celebrate Wallingford is committed to hosting this year’s parade which will take place on Saturday, July 15.
