DANA???s Back-to-School Event planned in downtown NA
Organizer Louise Cote says the event came out of a brainstorming discussion with her husband. ???We talked about creating an event for back to school, and the discussion quickly turned to the very successful long-time event the Chocolate Lover???s Stroll. The Valentine???s Day staple in our downtown, became the basis for the summer event. The first year we put it together really quickly and had a nice response, nothing great, so we built on it every year.??? The first few years were open to students through high school, but Cote hated turning away children who arrived after the last ticket was sold. ???At that point, we decided to change the eligible grades to pre-school through 6th grade.???
FISHER SPONSORS SHUFFLE
While the event was considered a success every year, Cote felt that something was missing. ???I thought about creating a more inclusive back to school event, and realized there was an opportunity for more people to get involved. From that idea came the Fair,??? she said. ???Inviting other business into the park and giving them the forum to advertise extra-curricular activities, like scouting, martial arts, and dancing, gave parents the opportunity to see things their children could be interested in.?????
???I love seeing the kids, especially the little ones, who are excited to go to school for the first time,??? Cote said. ???I ask whether they think they???ll like school, and try to share an encouraging story from my own past.??? She says some grades were a challenge for her, and laughs, ???I didn???t get multiplication in third grade, but I wasn???t the only one. I guess she was just a bad teacher.???
Cote is grateful for the support of downtown and local businesses, and especially for Fisher College???s sponsorship for the past three years. ???Sponsors make it easier to do some things, like buy advertising and to have DANA give out school supplies. Fisher College supplies the bags that the kids collect their goodies in.?????
Tickets for the ???Shuffle??? will go on sale at 4:45pm in Veteran???s Park, at the corner of South Washington and Bank Street. Tickets are $3 each, and 2 for $5, and only 225 will be sold. Each child will get a Fisher College tote bag, with back to school goodies inside, and a ticket listing all participating businesses by ???bus stop??? location. Then they walk from business to business to collect their school supplies. Some, but not all, of the businesses in the park will pass out school supplies.
State Rep. Betty Poirier will be collected non-perishable food items, paper goods and personal care items to benefit Lenore???s Pantry. She will be located in Veteran???s Park.
For more information, see DANA???s Facebook page (search DANA02760).