WAYNEDALE COMMUNITY PICNIC 2016
The Waynedale Community Picnic invites all Waynedale residents to come for a day of fun sponsored by local businesses and organizations on Saturday, August 27 from 10am to 3pm at the Waynedale Park. The event is organized and held the day of by volunteers. All activities and food are cost free, but each attendee must register at the registration table (on the South side of the park) for tickets the day of the event.
Since its start 14 years ago, the picnic has grown in attendance to over 2,000 guests, which is 500 more than expected last year. You may ask yourself “how do they feed and entertain so many attendees for free?” It starts with the local businesses and organizations who have so generously given what they can to see this event happen. Some provide their services, some donate needed supplies, some supply prizes, but many give monetary donations. It is truly a great show of community spirit and support by these donors. The event actually has no public funding through a government entity or grant; it’s the over 100 area businesses and organizations that make it happen!
The fundraising process begins the April before the event in August. If you’re counting, that’s 4 months of fundraising and working on building the event. Which brings us to the next part of how this event takes place, the tireless organizers. The picnic organizers this year are Megan Ryan and Josie Greenwell. These ladies keep extremely busy over the months leading up to the picnic. This year, Megan has led the event operations, advertising and reached out to the donors of the picnic. And Josie worked with the over 50+ volunteers and will be facilitating them on the day of the event to make sure every guest is having a great time. With it only being Josie Greenwell’s first year organizing the event, Megan Ryan has offered her guidance as Josie has “learned the ropes.” Ryan states, “I am incredibly lucky to have Josie on board this year. She is passionate, energetic, and her attention to detail has helped immensely.” The organizers say that there are many new features guests can look forward to this year, in addition to many of the traditional favorites. The event was entirely reorganized last year into a layout that is much more spread out to accommodate the new attractions including a live band on a stage, the splashpad, emergency vehicle show and an inflatable obstacle course. Taking advantage of the entire park grounds, this event layout also accommodates more vendors and booths where guests may meet and greet local businesses, as many of them are holding raffles for additional prizes.
The Waynedale Community Picnic is truly a reflection of our community. We have businesses, organizations and volunteers who are passionate about caring for Waynedale residents by supporting and helping to create a day that everyone can come to the Waynedale Park and enjoy a day of togetherness. Just as it was when the park was dedicated in 1949, the main dish will be hot dogs and the theme is fun and enjoying our community together. Ryan reminds guests, “Don’t forget to come early though. Food is first come first served and you wouldn’t want to miss out.” The picnic will be providing a larger amount of food this year after its record number of attendees last year.
SPLASHPAD
Splish, Splash! Last year the splashpad was on for the first time in picnic history. We had such a great response, that we will have this amenity available to guests again this year. Bring your flip- flops, bathing suits and towels, and cool off in Waynedale’s very own splashpad! In 2007, volunteers from the Waynedale area neighborhoods worked determinedly with the city to bring the splashpad to the Waynedale Park. In honor of those who worked so hard to provide the community with such a neat and awesome feature, it was decided to keep it on for everyone to enjoy at the Waynedale Community Picnic.
LIVE MUSIC
Are you ready to groove? Bring your dancing shoes and a lawn chair or blanket to enjoy the live music on the lawn by local band, “Loudmouth Soup” once again this year! They were so well loved, that we just had to have them back again! This family-friendly 5-piece band has music and songs for all ages and genres. The band will perform from noon to 2:30pm on the ‘Waynedale.com stage.’ Construction volunteers Alex Cornwell, Jordan Cornwell, Megan Ryan, Tim Ryan and Jim Lambert constructed the 12’ x 24’ stage specifically for the Waynedale Picnic last year, but you may see the stage at other various community events, just like this one. So, warm up your voice, shine up your dancing shoes, and be ready to enjoy some upbeat and funky live music at the picnic this year!
NEW THIS YEAR!
This year, the Waynedale Community Picnic is working to make parking and traffic flow more safe and smooth. We will be offering handicapped parking on Koons Street (which will be closed to general traffic) for those with handicapped tags. We are hoping this makes it much easier for those with disabilities or handicaps to access the park and all the fun of the picnic. To help with traffic, we will have 4 FWPD officers on site this year directing traffic. There are so many children crossing the street throughout the day that we wanted to be sure that safety comes first. Look for parking only on the east side of Elzey Street, as well as one way traffic flowing north from McArthur to Lower Huntington Road.
OLD FAVORITES!
Even with all the new features of the picnic this year, there will still be many of the old favorites to enjoy! Bingo starting at 10:45am is a fun way to start the morning, with prizes after each round. Free lunch, as always in the past, will be served at 11:00am and is brought to you by local restaurants in the Waynedale area. The face painting, craft tents, and kids games will be available all day for children. Don’t forget, adults ages 18+, enter your name in the door prize contest to win one of many prizes donated by local companies and organizations.
AUGUST 27, 2016 AGENDA
10:45am – First Game of Bingo
11:00am – Lunch
NOON – Live Band Starts
Emergency Vehicle Tour (Select Times)
ALL DAY ATTRACTIONS
Face Painting
Crafts
Splashpad Fun
Inflatable Obstacle Course
Free Lunch
Music
Kids Games & Prizes
Pinewood Derby Races
Door Prize Signup
Vendor Meet &
Greet Local Mascots
GENEROUS SPONSORS!
Each year, the picnic organizers reach out to the businesses and organizations in the Waynedale area to help put on this free and fun community event! Each and every year, they respond positively and generously! This year, over 100 Waynedale businesses contributed to the 14th Annual Waynedale Community Picnic. Please thank the sponsors by shopping or using their services as they’ve extended themselves to make sure you’ve had a great time at the event.
VENDORS
30 different vendors from around Fort Wayne will be present the day of the picnic to visit with all of the attendees! With all of these vendors in one location and at one single event, this is a great way to hear from many local businesses all at once, and to catch up on what’s new.
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