The Willow Glen Resident

Founders Day needs to be rebuilt, its organizers say

By Cecily Barnes

Nearly 20 Willow Glen residents gathered at Home Savings of America Feb. 4 to discuss Founders Day 1998. After all the ideas were thrown onto the table, Jeannie Perron, co-coordinator of Founders Day, said it was time to rebuild the event.

"It's definitely a rebuilding year," Perron said. "I was very enthusiastic after leaving the meeting. People are really willing to give their time and energy to this event."

Founders Day has been set for Sunday, Sept. 20. The parade will definitely continue, but the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association board has not yet voted on which bands will play or whether the crafts fair will be reinstated.

Resident Nancy Leegard said that she wants to see the crafts fair return, but thinks only vendors who made their product should be allowed to participate. "The last show was such a disgrace to people who put their heart and soul into their work," Leegard said. "Being a crafter in the past shows, there were a lot of us who said we weren't going to do it anymore."

WGBPA manager Demitri Rizos said that if the fair returns for Founders Day 1998, participants will be more closely screened.

Additional suggestions included a pancake breakfast, clowns with balloons and a stepped-up kids' fair. Perron is already hard at work on T-shirts for the event.

Aside from suggestions for improvement, attendees raised a host of concerns about last year's festival, from the type of music played at the event to volunteers getting drunk in the beer booths.

"Last Founders Day we went to one of the booths, and the workers were loop-de-looped," Leegard said. "This is an event to say how special Willow Glen is; we don't want people getting drunk in the booths."

A number of fundraising ideas were also thrown around, including charging participants to be in the parade, asking festival-goers for a $2 donation and auctioning off items donated either by the merchants or by the crafts fair participants.

Resident Len Silva seemed to sum up the evening with his comment. "You never know what you can accomplish if you don't change things," he said.

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