Sesquicentennial committee seeking donations
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The Mount Ayr Sesquicentennial Committee continues its planning for the town’s 150th birthday celebration set for Friday, September 19, through Sunday, September 21. To pull off this ambitious event, the committee has set a fund-raising goal of $60,000 and is currently seeking donations and grants to cover the expense.
Jeremy Rounds of the Southern Iowa Council of Governments has assisted Korbie Rinehart and the city with writing a grant for the Iowa Arts Council Cultural grant. The April 15 application asked for $19,550 to assist in the technical costs of running the festival including stage and lights, performance fees, hotel costs of musicians, and port-a-john stations.
Deb Robertson and Rinehart will be applying for smaller grants in May totaling roughly $10,000. All grants will take 4-8 weeks to be reviewed and for awards to be decided.
Otherwise, donations received from the public and local businesses already total $17,000 to date, leaving $22,450 that the committee still needs to reach their goal of $60,000. All donations are tax-deductible, and the city can provide receipts if desired. Donations of any amount can be dropped off at city hall with “SQ150” listed in the memo line, but donors of $250 or more will have special recognition that weekend. All donors, regardless of amount, will be listed on a banner displayed sesquicentennial weekend. A donation form can be found on the Record-News website.
The form also appears on the event’s page on Facebook – “Mount Ayr Sesquicentennial: Celebrating 150 Years.”
(Everyone can also follow that Facebook page to keep up with events being planned for the weekend.)
Those living out of the area who would like more information can email korbierinehart@gmail.com, and she would be happy to email a sponsorship packet or talk about specific contests or events looking for support.
The city has pledged that any surplus fundraising dollars would be dedicated to installing a mural on the square commemorating the Sesquicentennial.
Other than monetary donations, the Ringgold County Historic Preservation Commission is looking for privately owned historical items, from antique kitchen utensils and centennial dresses, to vintage marketing posters, pictures and items of interest dating from 1850-1990. The commission plans to host “History on Display” both Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21 in the courthouse. Items will be displayed on the first two floors of the courthouse under supervision and returned to their owners at the end of the weekend.
Reach out to Kim Scharfenkamp (kscharfenkamp@yahoo.com) if you have items you would like to loan for the display.
