by Kirby Lindsay, posted 9 November 2012
The Fremont Chamber of Commerce monthly board meeting for October, at History House, took an astonishing 55 minutes to breeze through a full agenda, even with plenty of items to share and discuss.
Most importantly – the Fremont Arts Council (FAC) has a date announced for the 2013 Solstice Parade. The parade – and therefore the Fremont Fair, and the Seattle Art Cars Blowout – will take place on the weekend of June 22nd.
New Time, Same Spectacular Celebration
Rodman Miller, President of the FAC Board and a member of the Chamber board, announced that negotiations with the City Of Seattle Special Events Committee resulted in an agreement to hold the parade on Saturday, June 22nd – at 2pm!
This is a huge change. The Parade, in its 24 years, has taken place at Noon-ish (depending on where you were on the parade route.) The Parade Organizers expect some spectators, who will have still saved their spot on the route since 5:30a, to be very upset, but they still feel victorious – originally the Events Committee asked for a 4p start time.
However, Miller acknowledged that the letter of agreement came provisionally. ‘If the Rock-N-Roll Marathon uses more police than expected…’ Miller paraphrased. The Seattle Rock-N-Roll Marathon will also take place on June 22nd, in the morning, with runners covering 26 miles of roadway – on a route as yet not confirmed. If the final route requires more police resources, and will tie up traffic in Fremont, the Events Committee reserved the right to pull their approval of the time, and maybe even the date.
“We need to think about how it will affect attendees getting to our events,” Phil Megenhardt observed. He produces the Fair, through his company Bold Hat Productions, for the Fremont Chamber. “I do see the challenges,” he acknowledged, about potential traffic tie-ups and splitting of audiences, “or an opportunity. Making some lemonade here…”
The Marathon will bring people to town, and they may enjoy – after running or supporting a runner – a chance to shop, snack and spectate at the Parade, the Fair, and the many other associated and auxiliary events here that weekend. Over the years, many people have asked for more bus service to Fremont specific to the Fair, and this traffic situation may finally convince METRO to add a special shuttle or two.
The later start time may also lure more people to shop, listen to music, eat and enjoy the Fremont festivities before the Parade – when they usually only do so after, if at all. Also, if the weather gods dare to be so mean as to make it wet and/or cold for the fourth year in a row, it likely would be warmer two hours later in the afternoon.
Both the Chamber Executive Director, Jessica Vets (director@fremont.com) and Megenhardt (phil@boldhatproductions.com) asked for suggestions on ways to enhance the Fair for 2013.
Parade Organizers worked strenuously for permission from the City for holding the Solstice Parade, the 25th Annual, on the day after the Solstice (read more about this in the Fremocentrist.com column from August 2012.) It does mean that for the first time in a few years – and the first time ever for Bold Hat – the Fair will NOT take place on Father’s Day weekend. Megenhardt and his crew are already at work finding new ways to promote Sunday at the Fair, and he announced a plan to hold a 5K race that morning from 10a – Noon. This would be in addition to the Fremont 5K & Briefcase Relay, held on a Friday evening earlier in June, and the Rock-N-Roll Marathon.
Opportunities Abounding
The rest of the meeting proceeded with an astonishing abundance of opportunities for promoting Fremont businesses, and the Chamber:
Board Walks – Teams of Chamber board members have been going out, visiting area businesses to share information on the Chamber, and to learn about the companies that call Fremont home.
Retailer Campaign – The Chamber has over 21 businesses signed-up for a cooperative Holiday Advertising Campaign. According to Vets, “a lot of businesses wanting to join the Chamber lately do so because they are seeing the benefits,” like cooperative advertising.
Multi-Chamber Meetings – On October 11th, members of the Fremont, Ballard and Queen Anne Chambers gathered at SIFF. All three organizations enjoyed providing members with a chance to network on a broader stage. Now, more multi-chamber events are in the works – including a ‘Cheers To Chambers’ business expo in March at the Good Shepherd Center.
Safety Suggestions – The Safety Roundtable hosted by the Chamber in October may be repeated as a monthly event, and a joint gathering between Fremont and Wallingford. It shared a lot of information – most specifically, that everyone call 9-1-1 to report any suspicious and criminal activity, if nothing else than to create accurate information on crime in Fremont. Vets also reported that people left feeling better about having had a forum to share their complaints.
Holiday Celebrations – The Lenin Lighting & Fremont Festivus celebration is coming together, and Vets does have help lined up for installing the lights. This led to a discussion about holiday lights on commercial buildings in Fremont, and a request that the community ‘coordinate a similar look.’ Reports were that one company has been contracted to install lights on several buildings, which may create a more harmonious look.
The meeting contained reports on many more topics and issues, too vast to fully report in a ‘highlight reel.’ Learn more about the business of the Fremont Chamber, and its monthly board meeting, by attending the next one on November 28th at 8a at History House. Everyone is welcome to attend – and a coordinated, similar look is neither required nor expected.
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©2012 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.