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Music swells and drops from the live band as kids run and play and their parents sit in camp chairs enjoying the performance. A bounce house with a little pool at the base is being made good use of and water splashes over the side when a bathing-suit-clad kiddo reaches the bottom at top speed down the slide. Vendors are set up along the footpath on both sides and food trucks line the driveway at the front of James Wright Memorial Park in Preston, Maryland.
The Preston Volunteer Fire Department has even brought the pump truck to spray the kids with their hose. It really is the perfect afternoon for it, with the sun shining and the air warm and clear. This is Preston Summerdaze, one of several free events the Town of Preston sponsors throughout the year.
Town Manager, Amber Korrell, started working for the town of Preston in 2020 and was asked what she thought would bring the people of the town together. With her past history of event planning for the town of Greensboro, she suggested free events to be held in the park. The results have been speaking for themselves ever since.
“I really enjoy working with the youth and watching them grow. They come in at elementary ages and then they come back as high school students with their friends so they can showcase their town’s park events. It’s really heartwarming,” Korell said of working with the town’s children.
She recalled having a problem with one boy a few years ago, who was vandalizing the park and throwing books from the Little Free Library on top of the pavilion. While accepting his apology for his behavior, Korell invited the young man to come back and work an event with her. He did just that and later came back to an event and brought his girlfriend to be introduced.
The Lions Club partners with the town to pay for the bounce houses and CCCA partners with the town to pay for the performances and free crafts. The craft table was particularly popular and was covered in different colored dyes as several children and their parents created tie-dyed t-shirts, with the help of local artist Dawn Malosh.
Korell is grateful she is able to bring the town together with these community events. You can find information about the events in Preston by visiting their facebook page, Town of Preston. For questions about how to get involved as a vendor, contact Amber Korrell via email at prestonmanager@prestonmaryland.us or call the town office at 410.673.7929.
