Lake Mills sesquicentennial steering meeting recap

A group of Lake Mills citizens and business representatives met at 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 13, at 5 Alarm Brewing Company to discuss the direction of the Lake Mills Sesquicentennial to be held in July of 2019.
Building off of July Jubilee 2018, it was discussed to expand Community Night (Friday, July 12) to Main Street and Mill Street, pending approval of the City Council and area businesses. The LMCDC Executive Director, Cassie Johnson, stated that the mechanical bull would be returning, and they were exploring adding more inflatables for kids to the Community Night to create a “festival” type atmosphere.
“The Community Night will host local retail vendors and bands,” said Johnson. “The group is also looking into having a mid-size ferris wheel downtown, and fireworks to round out the 2019 Community Night.”
Saturday (July 13) activities will tentatively include a parade, picnic in Oakwood Park, various organization events and a street dance.
“The (steering meeting) group decided it would be fun to hold a parade float contest, using the ‘Generations Strong’ slogan submitted by Gary Thompson earlier this year,” said Johnson.
A parade route is to be determined, though there was much positive feedback of this past summer’s “simplified” route. Parents for D.C. will hold their annual fundraiser picnic meal at Oakwood Park following the parade, and free family entertainment will be available.
According to a Facebook poll completed by the July Jubilee committee in August, the majority of people responding requested a “bigtime” performer to headline the street dance; something that is well-known regionally. A majority of the steering meeting attendees pushed for rebooking Boogie and the Yo-yo’z, but it was agreed that a few other options would be researched before we make that decision.
“We also want to showcase as much local talent and Lake Mills-raised groups as we can throughout the weekend,” said Johnson. “Surprisingly, there is a long list of local cover bands in the area that have Lake Mills ties.”
Local musicians will be booked for the Community Night, and it was discussed to have local bands play at Oakwood Park and downtown during the day Saturday. The group also talked about having some live music Sunday (July 14) as well.
A handful of potential new events were brainstormed, including a “Sunday Funday,” high school pool party, oldest/youngest resident awards, classic car show, sport tournaments, garden contest, and cemetery walk. Fundraising ideas were also discussed.
“Cost and community involvement is going to be a huge determinant in what activities the event will be able to sustain,” said Johnson.
Anybody who is interested in helping steer and execute ideas for the Lake Mills Sesquicentennial Celebration is encouraged to contact Cassie Johnson at lmcdc@wctatel.net or 641-592-5253.