Litchfield Community Education summer activities for youth are in full swing. Baseball, golf, tennis, basketball, hockey and more have all started or will begin very soon.
Litchfield Community Education Director Grant Solem says it’s nice with modern technology for him and the coaches to spread the word about rain issues or rescheduling with mass text messages to all of the participants. He says they don’t offer many adult activities in the summer because people are so busy with other things, but they do have a bus trip coming up for adults to the Chanhassen Dinner Theater in September.
Solem says Litchfield Community Theatre will be presenting “Mary Poppins” July 23rd through the 26th. He says rehearsals are already underway, with Tim Nelson directing, and tickets will go on sale soon.
Solem says they sent summer activity booklets home with K-6 students in May, but if anyone would like to get a copy, they’re available in the Litchfield Community Education office in the Wagner Building on East 6th Street. He says if anyone has questions, they’re welcome to call 693-2354.
The Parade of Bands in Litchfield is coming up one week from today – June 16th at 6 p.m. The parade will be on Armstrong Avenue from 10th to 5th Streets, then east on 5th Street to Gilman Avenue and then north on Gilman to Litchfield High School.
Heather Winkelman is part of the Parade of Bands Committee and is coordinating the vendors. She says there will be about a dozen vendors will be set up on 6th Street – between Gilman and Armstrong Avenues – including a couple of Mexican food stands again, along with the Lions hamburger stand, Adventure Bowls, Gypsy Bowls, mini-donuts and some new vendors such as the LAMP popcorn and dirty soda stand, Grandpa Steve’s kettle corn and Autie Em’s gluten-free food stand.
Winkelman says the bands will include Benson, Foley, KMS, Albany, Alexandria, Fergus Falls, Milaca, Richfield, Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, Owatonna, St. Michael-Albertville and Litchfield. She says People’s Choice award ballots will be handed out before the parade along 5th Street and they will be collected before the Litchfield High School Marching Band performs.
Winkelman says they will have a QR code posted at the vendor booths and also on their Facebook page so that those attending can see the order of the bands and some information about each of them. She says any donations towards the Parade of Bands is greatly appreciated to cover expenses and they may be dropped off at the Chamber office in downtown Litchfield.
The Litchfield School Board had several visitors at last night’s meeting, including members of the high school track teams and the boy’s tennis team. The Board also had discussion about future facility and financial planning.
Coach Justin Wittrock spoke to the Board about the success of the boy’s tennis program and how both the team and individuals competed in the state tournament. Track coach Jim Jackman and several male and female members of the track team shared highlights of their season.
Activities Director Justin Brown presented a season pass and fee proposal which the Board approved. It includes a registration athletic fee of $125, fine arts registration fee of $75 along with processing fees for those who pay online with a card. Brown says the fees can be paid with cash to avoid the processing fee. Season passes will be $200 for a family, $80 for adults and $50 for students, with processing fees added. Admission for Litchfield residents 65 and older are free, and for single games the online price for adults will increase to $9 and it will be $6 for students. All tickets at the door will be $10 – exact cash only as no change will be made.
The Board is expected to take action at the June 22nd meeting about what to ask voters for in November regarding an operating referendum and a capital projects levy. Board members went over a capital projects list with items totaling nearly $20-million and they will have a work session prior to the meeting on June 22nd to prioritize that list and to decide whether to bring all of those items to voters or just a portion of them.
Also last night, the Litchfield School Board approved of a resolution establishing the dates for filing affidavits of candidacy for election. The filing period is from July 14th through July 28th at 5 p.m. and candidates must file at the District Office and pay a $2 fee.