SOMERSET – Spirit of Somerset is just over a week away and the event is going on as planned, although the event is not getting typical funding from the city.
The folk festival is in its 20th edition this year.
That summer, the Board of Selectmen denied organizers’ request for city funding to cover Highway Department services and the use of Council of Aging buses as shuttles. They mentioned the need to stabilize the city’s finances and rethink how Somerset spends the city’s money on events organized by nonprofits. They agreed to allow the festival to use urban land as usual.
In response, the organizers stepped up their appeal for donations to local businesses and launched an online fundraiser. A month ago, members of the Spirit of Somerset Selectmen board of directors announced that they were still working to raise $ 17,000. By September 8, the online fundraiser had raised just over $ 4,000.
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An organizer of the festival declined to comment on the fundraising or the event in general.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 18, at Waterfront Park on Main Street. It starts at noon with food trucks and family activities such as petting zoo, pony rides and face painting and then culminates in fireworks that start at 9 p.m.
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There will be live entertainment all day long from acts like local singer Bella Manchester, Somerset-based 80s tribute band Back in the Day, and the marching band and show choir of Somerset Berkley Regional High School. Back in the Day recently completed an appearance on cruise lines while Manchester, a student at Joseph Case High School in Swansea, released her first single earlier this year.
Audrey Cooney can be reached at [email protected]. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
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