Poland village starts planning for summer

A parade and fireworks are planned for June 27.

By DENISE DICK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

POLAND — Christmas trees remain standing and decorated in many homes, but organizers of events to mark another holiday say it’s not too early to be looking toward that summer celebration.

For 2007, Town One Streetscapes and the Poland Firemen’s Association hosted the community’s Independence Day festivities. For several years prior, a group called Poland Forum had run the fireworks portion of the celebration with the firemen’s association handling the parade.

When the forum group decided not to continue their involvement, the firemen’s association called on Streetscapes for help, said Lee Ingold, association president.

The 2007 event drew between 6,000 and 6,500 people, Ingold said.

But they’d like to see even more attendees enjoy expanded activities in 2008 and beyond. That, however, requires help from more people.

The holiday festivities, called Celebrate Parade, kick off with the parade the afternoon of June 27. Fireworks will follow that evening.

“It focuses on family and youth-oriented activities,” said Larry Warren, president of Streetscapes.

A contract for the 2008 fireworks has already been inked and the groups are raising money to cover the costs.

“We’re hoping that some other groups will help with the fireworks and offer some other Independence Day activities,” Warren said.

Ingold said they hope businesses, organizations and possibly private individuals will help to make the celebration a weekend-long event that continues for many years.

A meeting is planned for 9 a.m. Jan. 26 at the Poland branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. People and groups interested in participating are asked to attend to offer ideas and involvement.

Some ideas for activities as part of the Independence Day holiday are a community pancake breakfast, an old car show and a sidewalk chalk art contest for children. But all of those take work from more people than just the firemen’s association and Streetscapes can provide.

“We need a lot of involvement,” Ingold said.

They also need ideas for fundraisers.

They hope to form a non-profit organization, with participation from the association, Streetscapes and other groups, businesses and clubs, to handle the Independence Day celebration for many years. They want to ensure there are enough people actively involved to maintain high quality events.

“It’s all volunteer,” he said. “A lot of time is given free of charge by a lot of people.”

Anyone interested in participating may call Ingold at (330) 507-1535 or Warren at (330) 757-3631.