Hometown Days
July 13th, 2007 by 
Alica
At a recent public meeting to get ideas fdor a community festival, folks talked about calling the event Hometown Days. “Brandon doesn’t have a community feel, because we don’t know everybody,” Brandon resident Jim Heronimus said.
Other than having a day-long introduction party, what are some ways a hometown festival can get people acquainted?
I remember years ago, there was some talk in the Chamber about holding a city-wide block party. These days, with Brandon’s population at about 8,000, that could be impractical. Maybe a series of neighborhood parties would work, though. I have to admit that the only people I know on my block are those who have lived there 15 years or longer.
What are other ways Brandon residents could get to know each other?
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July 14th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
i say a car show
July 15th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Possibly a flea market or a carnival.
I know the two don’t relate, but just throwing out ideas.
July 16th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
A car show w/ a carnival will definitely bring people out & about…I would love to see a parade…it does take a lot of involvement from all organiztions, however — churches, VFW, business owners, etc. “Homewtown Days” can coincide with summer vacation, back-to-school, homecoming, the pig-skin classic, what have you. There is a lot that we can do with that. First thing is to form a 3-4 person committee. These people would be the “chairs” of different events — parade, carnival, car show, entertainment, etc. Then they in turn would form their own sub-committees. Brandon is now getting so spread-out that groups are necessary — the Tennis Assoc., BVHS sports parents/boosters, motorcycle groups, elementary parents, etc. A block party for a town our size I don’t believe is conceivable…or it would be so big as to be unmanageable. The city-wide rummage has been great at bringing people together, I believe.
July 16th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Just a thought – “hometown” sort of implies that a person grew up in Brandon. I did, but most of the city’s 8,000 residents did not.
A guy once told me that even though he’d lived in Brandon more than 10 years, he still considered Brookings his hometown.
Would the name “Hometown Days” put off some people, the newbies in town? Could it be they wouldn’t feel compelled to participate?
I confess, though, that I’m hard pressed for a better name. “Get To Know Me Days” or “Putting Down Roots Days” doesn’t seem right at all, and “Brandon Days” sounds sort of dull. Maybe something along the lines of “Community Days” would work. Or, maybe a perfect name will present itself based on one of the events chosen. Who knows, the weekend might end up being called “Dodgeball Days” or something like that.
I’m just thinking out loud here. Any comments, yay, nay or otherwise?
July 19th, 2007 at 7:05 am
The homepage has a poll about the dates to be held. Is the chamber really considering the 3rd week in August? Won’t that interfere with the school start date and vacationing?
How about June when the weather gets nice? People are excited about summer and its activities, and I think that would really bring people out of hibernation so to speak.
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
I would like to see a town celebration for the city of Brandon. My hometown has a Saddle Horse Holiday celebration. My wife’s hometown has an Ableskivers Day celebration. Some of the activities include softball tournaments , parades , beauty pagent , children activities and street dance. For many past residence and current residence it is a GREAT weekend to come back to town. I know the hotels , restaurants and businesses have a good weekend.
The planning that goes into those town events is not done by the city council or the Chamber Executive Director. It takes many volunteers to put this together and build upon the successes.
I believe you could motivate a few volunteers to help organize this event. You would need some long time residents , mid term and new residents to effectively get all interested parties involved to make this a wonderful celebration. After a few short years the City of Brandon could be celebrating their 60th anniversary.
The final input I would like to share is the DATE. This will probably be one of the hardest parts of the decision. I saw that we were considering dates around the start of school. I personally think that is not a good time for a few reasons. The start of school is busy for parents with school aged kids.
But you also want the past students(most likely parents of school age kids) to come back to Brandon for this event. If you put it so close to the end of the Summer you will be competing with many school calendars around the area. Also, the BV Atheltic Booster Club has been sponsoring the Pigskin Classic during the first home football game for the past 7 seasons. This event is the MAIN fundraiser for the athletic programs of BVHS. I would hate for this new event to compete with Pigskin Classic.
The City of Brandon and BVSD have to much going for it to have those two events so close
together.
Regards,
Todd Neuberger
July 23rd, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I think it would be great if we had a ‘Brandon Fest’ that utilized the city parks over a Saturday and Sunday time period. Pioneer Park: host a disc golf tournament and disc skills contest such as throwing a Frisbee from the top of the hill closest to a hula-hoop located at the bottom. $1 a toss, closest wins the pot. A soccer tournament for local businesses (Wells Fargo vs First National?) 3-on-3 baksetball tourny.
McHardy Park (Arts): Stage set up (think Marv’s gospel concert) for any band that wants to play; the high school jazz band or concert band, local garage bands, Celebration church group, Sweet Adelines, DAPA youth orchestra, Robert Cray, or open mic comedy. Music clinics provided by members of the SD Symphony, high school band teachers, etc. Theater/acting clinics. Anyone who has a play or skit they wish to perform on the stage. Readers theater.
Aspen Park: Use a fire truck to wet the sand volleyball courts and have a sand castle building contest. Prizes for different age groups. Remove the nets from the tennis courts and play dodge ball. More people could view that great event if located there! Get a projector TV and have a free movie night in the pool. Bring your own inner tube and watch from the pool or sit in you lawn chair in the grass area or deck . Show “Jaws” or “Titanic” or “Splash”. Lifeguards can staff the popcorn and pop machines.
As usual, food vendors, face painters, etc could sign up for whatever venue they wish.
July 23rd, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I agree with Todd. Don’t get too close to the Pigskin Classic. How about the July weekend that used to be Arts In The Park? That would space the summer calendar out nicely; June-AITP, July-Brandon Fest, August-Pigskin Classic.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Todd and Charles, you have some great ideas! I encourage both of you – and anyone else – to attend the next community festival meeting on July 31 at Sioux Valley Energy. The last meeting, only seven people showed - a community event cannot be planned by just seven people.
And you are right, we need input from every service, youth, church organization.
The reason the August and September dates surfaced is because of too many conflicts with area celebrations. July was eliminated because of the hot and humid weather; June was eliminated because Arts in the Park is held then; and of course, May’s weather is risky and the end of the school year is already a busy time.
July 30th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
You all make excellent points and I can only hope that you show up at 7pm on July 31 to help us make some of these difficult decisions!
July 30th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
I plan on being there!
July 31st, 2007 at 8:07 am
I will try to attend also.
Who is running the meeting?
How are you trying to get the stakeholders of Brandon involved?
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:24 pm
The Chamber has taken the lead on organizing the meetings and advertising them. There is certainly always more that we can do to get new people there. Our hope is to use the next meeting or two and organize a more formal, independent structure.
August 8th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Was there a meeting last night? I was looking for the location?
August 10th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Todd, the meeting is this Tuesday night, Aug. 14 in the community room at Sioux Valley Energy. See you then!
August 10th, 2007 at 10:29 am
I should’ve mentioned it begins at 7 p.m.
August 15th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Randy Marso, Brent Anderson and myself met with Deanna White yesterday prior to the meeting last night. The discussion was the importance of what Pigskin Classic is and is accomplishing for the student athletes of the Brandon Valley High School. This is the Booster Club’s main fundraiser for the year.
I am glad the organizers of the Hometown Days agreed to modify the date so these two events do not compete with each other. The City of Brandon needs and deserves a great town celebration. I hope this event becomes very successful over the years.
I like how the Chamber has taken a leadership role in developing this type of event. Deanna is doing a good job. She had big shoes to fill from Sara Carothers.
Thanks again for the understanding and change of date.
August 15th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Todd, Forgive me, but I don’t understand how a city celebration would compete with the Pigskin Classic. Would you provide some specifics, please?
Is there not a way a city celebration could enhance the Classic?
Seems to me Hometown Days is meant to get people to consider Brandon their home. Maybe to get former residents to return home for a weekend. And since school events seem to be the common denominator for most residents, it seems logical that something connected with the school would make a perfect Hometown Days.
And it also seems logical that the Booster Club would welcome Brandon Valley High School alumni, and a greater number of Brandon residents, to participate in the Pigskin Classic.
Again, Todd, would you please give specific examples of some of your concerns?
Thank you.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:26 am
Would like to draw attention of Brandon resident Mr. Jim Heronimus. Would like to know if you are the same Jim Heronimus who was my boss at Kmart (7007) Sporting goods dept. at Big Spring, TX. Thanks