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Wow! Wow! Wow! Happy Birthday, Columbus, and what a magnificent celebration and festival! From the powerful twelve-member Board of Directors, the dynamic duo in the Chamber office to the 200 volunteers that helped it run like a well-oiled machine, we can officially deem Magnolia Days Festival 2023 (MDF) a HUGE SUCCESS! It truly does take a village to pull off an event the magnitude of MDF.
We need to give a personal shoutout to the following folks who, without them, the festival would not be possible.
Festival chairman, Amber Becerra, is like the Eveready Bunny. She keeps going and going and going, relentlessly giving of her time, talent, and effort to make the festival what it is today. And talked about the organization – no one compares to Amber’s organizational skills and execution of plans. Ryan Fedako knocked the festival’s music, stage, and sound portion into the next county and beyond. What an incredible music line-up during the entire festival. You know it’s good when everyone from very young to old dances in the streets, just like the good ‘ole days when it was the Magnolia Homes Tour.
Kid’s Activities Chairman Michelle Gorman rocked it, keeping everything organized and running smoothly. Of course, there are always glitches, but she handled them perfectly, and the young and old kids had a great time. The committee added more rides this year, and she managed to keep them all under control.
Carrie McRee and Charles Potter oversaw the Food Village and did an excellent job getting everyone into their assigned spots and up and running well before the start of the festival. As a result, the Food Village saw a steady stream of customers and offered a wide array of cuisine.
Molly Harkness checked in merchandise vendors on Friday and Saturday and did an excellent job organizing and settling them into their assigned spaces.
Raven Kocurek was the go-to person for the inaugural Magnolia Days Festival 5K Run and did a great job. There were over 140 entries in the 5K. For the first time, that is a pretty impressive turnout.
Peggy Harrison, Brandy Awtry, Aaron Weishuhn, and Carrie Foster jumped in when and where needed, and we appreciate all of their efforts.
We extend a big thank you to the spouses of the board members who stepped in and helped set up, take down, and work shifts during the festival. We truly appreciate each one of you.
We are eternally grateful to three past Chamber Board Members that did a fantastic job in the Beer Garden. From setup to the takedown, these three never skipped a beat. Lindsi Graham, Zach Venghaus, and James Janik – without them, there would not have been a beer garden. And we all know the beer garden is the nucleus of the festival. From a perfectly organized layout of tubs for the drinks to a fine-tuned drainage system for the tubs, these three know what it takes to make it successful. There are not enough thank you’s in the world to let them know how much they are appreciated.
We also want to thank all the Officers, EMS, and other first responders on site for keeping order and everyone safe. They are all a vital part of the success of the festival.
Thank you to the Mayor, City Councilmen, Public Works Department, City Manager, County Judge, County Commissioners, and County Maintenance workers for supporting the festival and helping when needed. Thank you to Banner Press Newspaper, Colorado County Citizen, and KULM Radio for the great media coverage. Thank you also to Steve & Grace McCullough, Rodney Kilpatrick, Frank Lleverino, and his family, Jade, Brooke, Candy, Samuel, and Isaiah, for hours and hours of work helping set up and take down and working shifts during the festival. Again, it couldn’t have happened without every one of them.
The 200+ volunteers that worked at everything from the beer garden to ticket takers at the kid’s activities deserve a big round of applause. It absolutely would not be possible to have the festival without these folks giving so freely and lovingly of their time. Thank You All!
And the thank yous would not be complete without the biggest shoutout to all of our MDF Sponsors. We had 52 businesses and individuals sponsor the festival this year, and we thank all of them for their generosity.
In case you are curious, we estimate that between 8,500 and 9,500 people were out on the square during the day-anda- half festival. That’s a lot of folks. And we thank all of you for coming out and supporting MDF in small-town Columbus, Texas. YOU are what it’s all about, and it makes a year of planning, many, many miles walked, and every aching muscle and bone worth every second. THANK YOU!
We apologize for anyone we may have missed in our thank yous. It was not intentional, and please know that you are appreciated.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone involved! See you there, on the square, next year May 17 & 18, 2024.
