Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Help! say Allied Gardens SpringFest organizers

Onstage plea is made at recent event

Beatles tribute band Help! at SpringFest 2013
Beatles tribute band Help! at SpringFest 2013

The Allied Gardens SpringFest board will meet later this month to discuss the future of the two-day celebration, SpringFest president Sherry Kelly said in a May 21 interview.

The 14th annual SpringFest, held last weekend, featured a parade, midway games, carnival rides, a beer-and-wine garden, music, and a May 18 "distress call" from event planner Don Brennan. He took the stage after the Beatles tribute band Help! ended their second set.

Usually, onstage announcements acknowledge organizers, sponsors, and volunteers. "SpringFest may go away," Brennan told the audience. He referred to changes made by the San Diego City Council in 2010, a fee structure, and costs that changed from a "couple hundred" to thousands. Brennan urged people to go to the Navajo Events website and "tell what SpringFest means" to them. "We need support," Brennan said. He praised the support of businesses and volunteers and went on to say, “We're losing our communities."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Brennan said he lives in the same Allied Gardens house he grew up in and asked for audience input. "This is a distress call," he said.

Del Cerro Action Council president Jay Wilson and Sherry Kelly are members of Navajo Community Planners, Inc., and colleague Steve Grimes asked at the May 20 planning-group meeting about Brennan's statements. Kelly said the issues were "too much bureaucratic red tape" and "volunteers — people are not stepping up."

Kelly elaborated on those remarks on May 21, saying that paperwork included City of San Diego forms for parks, events, and the Commission for Arts and Culture. While volunteers show up at event time, “We would like to have people come forward and want to help" in advance, she said.

A third issue is the lack of additional corporate sponsorship. Current sponsors include Windmill Farms, the Allied Gardens Recreation Council, and the Kaiser Foundation. There are also smaller donations from small businesses and they "are so much appreciated," said Kelly.

She said former 7th District councilwoman Judy McCarty and Sally Madaffer started SpringFest as a community celebration. Madaffer belonged to the Kiwanis Club of Grantville-Allied Gardens and volunteered to form a committee to hold a celebration with a parade, according to the Kiwanis website. Kiwanis sponsored the SpringFest's early years.

Kelly became involved in 2006, and SpringFest is now a nonprofit organization. She noted that youth groups benefit from a portion of midway proceeds.

Sweet Pea (with owner and sign-carrier) parades ahead of the Wienermobile

Furthermore, participants like Candy Kalman serve several functions. Before marching in the 2013 parade with a large gray cat named Sweet Pea on her shoulder, Kalman set up flags. The Reader contacted Brennan on May 21. He said there was "one little line" of support on the website and that he was working and didn't have time to talk until next week.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Drinking Sudden Death on All Saint’s Day in Quixote’s church-themed interior

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Next Article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
Beatles tribute band Help! at SpringFest 2013
Beatles tribute band Help! at SpringFest 2013

The Allied Gardens SpringFest board will meet later this month to discuss the future of the two-day celebration, SpringFest president Sherry Kelly said in a May 21 interview.

The 14th annual SpringFest, held last weekend, featured a parade, midway games, carnival rides, a beer-and-wine garden, music, and a May 18 "distress call" from event planner Don Brennan. He took the stage after the Beatles tribute band Help! ended their second set.

Usually, onstage announcements acknowledge organizers, sponsors, and volunteers. "SpringFest may go away," Brennan told the audience. He referred to changes made by the San Diego City Council in 2010, a fee structure, and costs that changed from a "couple hundred" to thousands. Brennan urged people to go to the Navajo Events website and "tell what SpringFest means" to them. "We need support," Brennan said. He praised the support of businesses and volunteers and went on to say, “We're losing our communities."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Brennan said he lives in the same Allied Gardens house he grew up in and asked for audience input. "This is a distress call," he said.

Del Cerro Action Council president Jay Wilson and Sherry Kelly are members of Navajo Community Planners, Inc., and colleague Steve Grimes asked at the May 20 planning-group meeting about Brennan's statements. Kelly said the issues were "too much bureaucratic red tape" and "volunteers — people are not stepping up."

Kelly elaborated on those remarks on May 21, saying that paperwork included City of San Diego forms for parks, events, and the Commission for Arts and Culture. While volunteers show up at event time, “We would like to have people come forward and want to help" in advance, she said.

A third issue is the lack of additional corporate sponsorship. Current sponsors include Windmill Farms, the Allied Gardens Recreation Council, and the Kaiser Foundation. There are also smaller donations from small businesses and they "are so much appreciated," said Kelly.

She said former 7th District councilwoman Judy McCarty and Sally Madaffer started SpringFest as a community celebration. Madaffer belonged to the Kiwanis Club of Grantville-Allied Gardens and volunteered to form a committee to hold a celebration with a parade, according to the Kiwanis website. Kiwanis sponsored the SpringFest's early years.

Kelly became involved in 2006, and SpringFest is now a nonprofit organization. She noted that youth groups benefit from a portion of midway proceeds.

Sweet Pea (with owner and sign-carrier) parades ahead of the Wienermobile

Furthermore, participants like Candy Kalman serve several functions. Before marching in the 2013 parade with a large gray cat named Sweet Pea on her shoulder, Kalman set up flags. The Reader contacted Brennan on May 21. He said there was "one little line" of support on the website and that he was working and didn't have time to talk until next week.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Next Article

In-n-Out alters iconic symbol to reflect “modern-day California”

Keep Palm and Carry On?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader