CarmelFest Committee Extends Heartfelt Thanks

The sirens have stopped, the fireworks have ended, and the bands and orchestras have stopped playing, but the positive energy of this year’s CarmelFest and its impact on our community will last for months to come. I want to thank the citizens of Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville, and our neighbors in Indianapolis for attending the parade, fireworks and festival in record numbers, reinforcing once again that it is the best festival of its kind in Indiana.

My committee and I spend thousands of collective hours each year to make sure that it is a well run event, and the reward for our hard work was to see all of you respond by attending. To all of the volunteers who came and endured the heat, all I can say is ‘Thank You’ from the bottom of my heart. Your contribution to this great event was invaluable. Each year, as we grow in scope and venues we struggle to fulfill all of our volunteer needs. Yet this year, we had numerous people volunteer for specific times and jobs, and then stick around and do even more after their shifts ended. One young woman spent literally hours at CarmelFest this year. She was recently divorced, recently lost her job, and didn’t even live in Carmel. But she wanted to be a
part of something bigger than herself. So, she gave willingly to our community by serving all of us at CarmelFest.

Others recognize that this is the largest community gathering each year in all of Carmel, and want to be a part of its dynamic. One young couple were married at the top of the fountain during CarmelFest by Carmel City Judge Brian Poindexter.  CarmelFest will forever be a part of their life.

There is a spirit of community that is growing here in Carmel. We are a unique city that has literally reinvented itself in the last few years. CarmelFest, the Carmel International Arts Festival, The Center for the Performing Arts and other events and venues are helping to build something in which the citizens of Carmel become closer in all that we have in common.

On behalf of all the members of the CarmelFest Committee and the members of the Rotary Club of Carmel, and on behalf of all our wonderful sponsors, thank you all for coming together with us. We do it all for you.

Gary Frey, Chairman
CarmelFest 2010

Watch a slideshow from the CarmelFest Parade!