An open letter to Cloverdale
EDITOR: The Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce presented its fifth annual Winter Festival on Friday, Dec. 6. For four years the weather was cold but dry, but this year the skies opened up and drenched our city and this celebration, which heralds in the holiday season. By some gauges, Cloverdale received four inches of rain on Friday afternoon and evening.
After checking weather forecasts several times a day the week of the festival, we knew we had to make some abrupt changes. Rather than canceling the event we decided that we wouldn’t close downtown streets or set up the North & South Poles filled with artisans. Instead, we erected large tents in the Downtown Plaza for the Lions Club’s Tree Lighting and Santa’s visit. Under the tents kids decorated gingerbread cookies baked by a chamber board member and the Competitive Cheer Squad sold holiday wreaths. Santa arrived on a firetruck and the tree was lit in the plaza. Large umbrellas were donated for people who needed them. The tents were erected and decorated early in the morning by community volunteers with lots of help from City of Cloverdale street and parks crews, a huge help for the chamber. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Winter Festival artisans who chose to, were placed inside of over 25 downtown businesses who stayed open late. The people who braved the weather and came downtown also made a point of going into businesses who welcomed them with music, refreshments and holiday cheer. When the last child had spoken to Santa, our Cloverdale firefighters and Cal Fire firefighters came downtown, assisted by the Lions Club, and dismantled our tents in the pouring rain. A daunting task for our chamber, taking down the tents turned into an amazing display of community support, all executed within about 20 minutes. The police department allowed our very wet tents to be secured in their bay, out of the weather, as winds were sporadic and gusting throughout the evening.
Shawn Bovee, from Cloverdale Delivers and KO Studios, volunteered to make sure the plaza was free of trash and all of the cans emptied. He also helped organize and dry the tents the following Monday, when again, rain threatened the drying process. City personnel helped remove the tents from the poles when the first droplets of rain were felt and carried them inside, allowing them to dry out completely.
And finally a hearty “thank you” for coming downtown, being part of the fifth annual Cloverdale Winter Festival, supporting our shops and restaurants and being such a caring and committed community. The Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce is truly grateful.
Neena Hanchett
Executive Director
Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce
Cloverdale
