Volunteers sought for Fall Festival
Organizers of the annual Fall Festival, the largest fundraising benefit of the year for the Forsyth Nature Center, are seeking volunteers to help out on the day of the event.
The festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Lucas Avenue site. Admission is free.
“We are asking that people or groups that are willing to volunteer ... either the full day or a morning or afternoon shift,” Mark DeDea, the center’s caretaker, said in a press release.
The morning shift is 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The later shift is 12:30 to 4 p.m.
Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, businesses, community organizations and students in need of community service hours have been “extremely helpful over the years,” DeDea said.
“The Fall Festival would not be able to happen without the help and support of the community,” DeDea said.
“We have been very fortunate over the past 14 years to have so many great volunteers, many of whom have continued to come back year after year.”
Organizers are also seeking volunteers for the day before the event to help set up.
DeDea said it takes about 125 volunteers to run the festival and be operate all the games, craft booths, bake sale, face painting, hayride, bounce houses, animal exhibits and entertainment.
The afternoon slots tend to be the most difficult to fill, DeDea said. Volunteers who commit to a shift will receive a Forsyth Nature Center T-shirt.
The Fall Festival started in 2002 with just a couple of craft tables and vendors and has grown into a fullday event that encompasses the entire park, DeDea said.
He said the event attracts thousands of visitors each year, and that it has raised $100,000 since its inception.
Money raised by the event has been used for such improvements to the nature center as new permeable pavers, buildings for animals, exhibits, signage, roofs, an audio tour and fencing.
The festival is co-sponsored by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and the support group Friends of Forsyth Nature Center.
If your interested in volunteering, email info@ forsythnaturecenter.org or call (845) 339-3053. Include your name and your requested shift.