Council approves several annual events

WASHINGTON — City Council Members signed off on a variety of events planned in Washington over the next two years during a city council meeting Tuesday night. The list includes several days on the library summer reading program, Marion Avenue Baptist Church’s OurTime Youth Conference, and several other, big-ticket items.

The 2023 Farmers Market was at the top of the list, with changes for this year’s event including two food trucks planned for the whole, 22-week season, and the expansion of a kids’ book giveaway funded by event sponsors.

“We have the customer base coming to the market and looking for those (food truck) options,” said Sarah Grunewaldt, one of the event’s organizers, in a follow-up interview. “And the book program has been a smashing success … this year we’re going to do all 22 weeks and we’ve had a lot of interest with doing not only books for small children, but chapter books for the older kids.”

Council members also approved plans for a FlightLine Live concert, a part of the community’s now 76-year-old Ridiculous Days celebration. The June 3 event was held up by a dispute between the Chamber and the council over whether they should implement a snow fence around the square, or the Chamber proposed, putting up signs warning that alcohol could not be brought into the park.

“I do not think we should have alcohol up there without very stringent boundaries,” City Council Member Elaine Moore said at a meeting in December. “We’re just asking for trouble with underage drinking, spilling out into the streets. I’m just not comfortable with (it.)”

At Tuesday’s meeting, Chamber Director Michelle Redlinger said the organization would keep the snow fence, meaning this year’s only substantial change would be a move of the beverage garden slightly closer to the central fountain.

Tuesday night also saw bulk approval for a handful of 2024 and 2025 Chamber events.

“We wanted to be proactive on 2024 and ‘25 for events that don’t really ever change in date,” Redlinger said. “The list includes the spring and the fall craft fair, it includes our Thursday night live summer concert series, the summer classic which is always the first weekend in June, and … the tour of homes, which is always the first weekend in December.”

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