“The Summer Festival Parade is always a big deal for us, we actually shut down State Road 13 during much of the day for the parade,” says Levi King, a volunteer coordinator for the Middlebury Summer Festival. “Our parade is one of the larger festival parades in Indiana. We had about 50 entries this year – everything from RVs to horse-drawn entries to people making their own floats, and a lot of floats promoting local businesses and organizations, as well.
This year the Middlebury Summer Festival was June 23 and 24 and we had thousands of people come out. People love to come for the parade and the music and the food trucks – everyone just loves the food trucks. We also had a variety of unique events, and the festival is always packed with info booths and a lot of non-profit organizations participate; parent associations from Middlebury Community Schools were involved and we had crafting events and kids activities – it was nice to see a lot of interaction between parents and children.
The Middlebury Summer Festival is just a great thing for this community; it’s really energizing and brings so many people together. I’ve been volunteering for 32 years. The past seven years I’ve been in charge of planning the parade. A lot goes into the planning of the parade but it’s a great feeling to be part of making this event happen.
Just like always, our volunteers played a huge role in this year’s event – we had close to 30 volunteers this year – and we’d also thank Sheri Howland and Carmen Carpenter from the Middlebury Chamber of Commerce for their support and assistance. We’re very fortunate to have so many great volunteers every year. I wish every event was as lucky as we are, to have people wanting to help out in any way possible. We’re always on the lookout for more help, but if you live in a community where there’s an event like this that brings your community together –- my suggestion would be to try and get involved.
People talk about our parade and the food – that’s what they get excited about. People have lots of different reasons for loving the Middlebury Summer Festival, but, personally, my favorite part of the festival is always the music. Always has been. It’s just so nice to gather with the community in such a fun atmosphere and then be entertained with live music. This year we were lucky to have some great musicians and performers, including Buddy Pearson and local songwriter Marty Miles.
For me, I just think volunteering is a good thing to do. It sets a good example. You know, you don’t always have to give money or materials or products to have an impact on the community around you. Volunteering is one of those ways you can help, and it’s a good feeling to give of your time. Especially when you’re contributing to an event like this one that brings people together, creates a lot of great memories and puts smiles on faces.”
Levi King — pictured with wife, Joanna — is a longtime volunteer at the Middlebury Summer Festival.
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