VOLUNTEER GROUP HELPS MAKES ARBORETUM MAGICAL
Today will be Leilapalooza, a 6 outdoor stage, 35-music band festival rockin, rollin, jazzin on the 85-acres of Battle Creek's Leila Arboretum. Located near downtown on W. Michigan Avenue.
Almost to the day last year, I published a blog about a group of Leila volunteers called "The Tuesday Group," which puts in hundreds of hours almost weekly to not only make Leila's front entrance extraordinarily beautiful, but also to help on events like Leilapalooza; and the first-ever incredibly successful Fantasy Forest Art Competition several weeks ago, which drew close to 6,000 visitors.
(I ran across the following blog this morning -- there are more than 200 blog posts on my site from the past 10 years at ragstorichmond.blogspirit.com.With about 6,000 readers each month.)
But in all my years of working with volunteers (and being one), never have I seen a bunch like The Tuesday Group, dedicated, hard working, persistent, fun and funny... who are not only central to maintaining the Arboretum, but helping it expand and transform itself into the "nature, arts, education and recreation campus" that Mrs. Post envisioned when she donated the property nearly a century ago.
I've worked a couple days a week at the Arboretum for 3 years, and I get to casually watch these volunteers, in the way I watch everything after nearly 50 years as a newspaper columnist, writer and author.
So, here's a link (below) to my story about The Tuesday Group. You'll be amazed at what they do.
And come on out today to the Leilapalooza music festival!
I'll be pouring beer from 6 to 9:30 at the Fragrant Hill Pavilion, up on the overlook.
As they say down south, "Just stop and say 'hey'!"
http://ragstorichmond.blogspirit.com/archive/2014/07/29/tuesday-group-volunteers-make-leila-shine.html