A possible concept to bring needed income into the county could be a hometown reunion day, put on by each town in Lake County. This could be added to the other celebrations, such as Lower Lake Days, etc. The difference being, the targeted attendees are the folks who live and used to live in each town. If all the towns coordinated their reunion day, they could be put on quite inexpensively.
Each town would use the same basic plan, advertising, and suppliers. The dates should be set to be held outside the normal summer tourist season, as the purpose is not to visit the area for all the reasons that tourists do, but to reunite and enjoy the company of old friends and family members, catch up on each others lives and share tall tales and wonderful adventures.
If the towns would pool their efforts, a greater savings could be enjoyed for such an event. A standard flier could be used, where just the date and place need be changed to be used by each town, year after year. The fliers for each town would be placed at each post office, so members of the community could send them to friends and relatives, by addressing them and depositing them in a container at the post office, where they would be mailed out at a mass mailing rate a few weeks before the event took place. The Bay Area and Sacramento area would also be set up for a mass mailing, as both areas are close enough for a day trip. Those fliers would advertise the dates for all the town events.
At each event, a simple menu of hot dogs would be offered. The Miller Sausage Co. in Lodi, could be contracted to supply the dogs, bringing a lower cost for them to each town. They would be asked to supply a certain amount of free dogs for a hot dog eating contest. Soft drink companies could bid on exclusive sales space if they set up and manned such a station. A tent company would be used by all the towns, gaining better rental rates. The tent area, would be used for a beer garden, offering shade, protection against rain and a controllable area for this activity. The same would go for the disc jockey to provide multi-era background music for each event. Community clubs and volunteers would be in charge of setup and cleanup, with the county supplying a dumptruck to haul away the trash.
A highlight of the day could be a basketball game between each town”s traditional rival, using both high school and graduated players to entertain the visitors.
In summary ? the goal of such a day is to bring folks who call that town their hometown a chance to enjoy a day of socializing, reminiscing and exchanging news about old friends and families, a chance for the younger people to know a bit of the town”s history from the older folks and a day for a families to relax and share some past life with their own mates and kids. It should be visitor friendly, not a fundraiser, like most other types of festivals. Prices should be kept as low as possible for food and drinks. Local businesses would get a shot in the arm by the visitors” various purchases that are made during the event.
Jim Hall”s hometown is Clearlake Oaks.
