After hearing both positive and negative reactions to Oakdale’s All-American Bash that was staged on June 25, including a parade and a concert and ending with a nighttime fireworks show, the Oakdale Enrichment Society hosted a public meeting on July 7 to discuss the event and answer any questions from the public.
The OES typically has three public meetings a year but felt as if an earlier open meeting was needed to address some concerns the public had regarding the June 25 Bash, with many of those concerns posted on social media.
Many locals were confused on what exactly was happening that day and some stated it seemed the event was lacking the advertisement needed to really get the word out all over town about the event schedule.
Last year, the Oakdale Enrichment Society put on a large event for Oakdale’s 150th birthday bash, a several day celebration that culminated in a concert and fireworks show that drew several thousand people to the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo Grounds. This year was not as OES hoped it would be, officials said, with attendance numbers extremely low at the late afternoon-early evening series of concerts in the rodeo arena.
Many people attending the meeting said they did not know about the parade or the concert and found others with the same sentiments after posting their comments online. Others were concerned about the loss of profit for vendors and OES as a whole since there were not as many ticket sales as last year’s event.
This year general admission prior to the event was $25 and cost was $35 at the door for the concert and fireworks, with free admission to those up to three years of age. Sponsors for the fireworks show were the same as last year, provided by Ross F. Carroll and Roland Construction.
The public meeting was held at Mountain Mike’s in Oakdale the evening of July 7, and about 20 community members showed up to meet with the OES board regarding the event. Many left with more understanding of what happened and where the board was at during the decision-making process.
The OES board consists of President/Treasurer Lisa Ballard, Vice President Cher Bairos and Secretary Lupe Aguilera. All three were present for the meeting.
Many community members voiced their concerns on ticket pricing, noting it was too expensive to bring a large family, while others added that there were no activities for kids on site and not much in the way of refreshments for kids other than sno-cones, though it was billed as a family-friendly event.
Bairos said it was intended as a community event and much of their funding for this year came from money that rolled over from last year’s bash, which covered a lot of expenses instead of having to start from scratch since they didn’t have many sponsors this year.
OES is planning another public meeting for Thursday, Aug. 4 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss whether to have a ‘bash’ next year and, if so, how and where it will be done.
The meeting location is to be determined and will be announced prior to the session. The group meets monthly; more information about the OES can be found on their website, www.oakdaleoes.com or by emailing oes95361@gmail.com. Oakdale Enrichment Society also has a Facebook where the meeting time and locations will be posted beforehand as well.
