Marathon Volunteers Organizing 2nd Annual Summerfest

Written by admin on 18 March 2011

Marathon Summerfest 2010's Show and Shine was a huge success and one of the events organizers hope will return. Here 5 year old car enthusiast Carter Cook gets a lift from his friend, Tom Hanlan for a closer look under the hood of one of the classics.

Summerfest 2010's Fish Derby, Car Show, Dances, High Tea and other events brought in plenty of visitors from neighbouring communities. Ron and Jackie Jung, seen here with there 1974 Corvette, won 3rd place at the Show 'n Shine.

MARATHON, ON – When Marathon business ownser Andre Paris first suggested organizing a 10-day festival, many people thought that he might have been biting off more than he could chew but Marathon Summerfest 2010 was a huge success. Since February 2011, Paris has been meeting with the festival executive once again and plans are well under way to make this year’s festival even bigger and better than the first.

Organizing an event of this scale does not happen without a lot of sweat and sacrifice however “No doubt that it takes a big commitment, coordinating meetings with the executive and volunteers, collaborating with those managing events and building from last year’s success to ensure we top it – it’s a full time job in itself”. It goes without saying that there are alot of costs associated with organizing, promoting and delivering Summerfest and so Paris and his team of volunteers was thrilled with the announcement earlier this month by Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Michael Gravelle, that Marathon Summerfest would be receiving $32,000 through Celebrate Ontario (nearly 1/2 of the funds distributed to 3 Northshore events) to further enhance the festival’s programs and services to attract new audiences. Marathon Mayor Rick Dumas was very pleased with the impact that funding for a 2nd Summerfest would have on the community

“We’re really excited about this support for Marathon’s SummerFest. This assistance will help create a wide range of activities and opportunities to promote our town, and create more economic benefits for Marathon and the region.” said Dumas.

We spoke with Paris to get an idea of where things stand with Marathon Summerfest 2011, which of last year’s popular events would be returning and to learn of a ‘new look’ that will soon be unveiled for the festival.

Keep reading OntarioNewsNorth.com as more details will be shared in coming weeks regarding everything there will be to enjoy at Marathon Summerfest 2011!