FAMILY Harvest Halloween Festival – Why Not? Oct. 31 & Nov. 1, 2014 Last summer, while a group of us were listening to one of our local home-grown bands the discussion came up “why does Yankton not have a fall festival” ? “Yeah, why doesn’t it?”, everyone expressed, “with all the agriculture around us Yankton as a location is perfect, the pioneer river history, the hard working people!” Let’s do it! Our community deserves a celebration to socialize with family and friends. A fall festival would bring people together sharing common interests and networking opportunities for businesses, not to forget the much needed income. Oh my gosh, it is endless! Then the brainstorming began. What we needed first was the music, “well, these guys are perfect, so we simply asked if “The Lugnuts” would be willing to come and play at Yankton’s first annual Harvest Festival 2014. Then as the evening flowed so did the crazy ideas for activities at the festival. Out of that came the “Spooky Forest” and the Ghost train that would take kids across the Meridian Bridge, and the Pig Races… yes, pigs racing on 3rd Street! What a hoot! It was a fun evening full of wild ideas, enthusiasm and excitement for something NEW! Now we had the Harvest obsession ~ Yes we can do this! There are so many reasons to NOT do something ~ that‘s easy! Coming up with a solid plan, strategically purposeful path that would benefit everyone was a lot harder and even more difficult was the road of logistics and financing. In the beginning we thought BIG (maybe too big :)), and then narrowed it down. We asked “how would the public want to see their very own community festival: our local personalities, showcased talents, what represents best our strong work ethics and what would be FUN! When would be a good time to have a seasonal fall festival? It was agreed: Halloween has its dramatic folklore and traditional imagery and the strength surrounding the Harvest season giving us family comfort reminding us to Thankful. It was settled ~ combine both Harvest & Halloween together? Halloween falls on a Friday this year, so for the next three years we can “trick or treat” and celebrate Harvest joy on the weekend. One key element, in the beginning was simply talking to people about the idea and getting their feedback. There was a lot of good information collected in the early days of conception which spun like a web (no pun intended) with one connection leading to another. Personally, I utilized my family, friends, business connections and any willing victim that would listen to the Harvest Halloween plan! We gathered visual material for inspiration while researching other festival themes until we were Kynan C.Trail, MD, FACS Surgical & Non-Surgical Treatment of: Open & Laparoscopic Surgery Gallbladder Disease Moles & Skin Lesions Digestive Disorders Cancer Hernia VNUS Vein Procedure Appendectomy Sclerosis of Spider Veins Thyroid/Parathyroid Colon & Rectal Disease Colonoscopy & Upper Endoscopy And many more..... Facilities and Outreach Clinics: Avera Sacred Heart Hospital, Yankton, SD Lewis & Clark Specialty Hospital, Yankton, SD 8 v HERVOICE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 Niobrara Valley Hospital, Lynch, NE Avera St. Benedict Hospital, Parkston, SD 2525 Fox Run Parkway, Suite 204, Yankton www.yanktonsurgical.com 605-668-9670