Downtown Vernon’s 25th annual Sunshine Festival Saturday drew about 12,000 people for the start-of summer celebration.
The Downtown Vernon Association (DVA), who organized the event, is happy with the results.
“The Sunshine Festival has certainly evolved from a merchant sidewalk sale to the large-scale community event that it is today,” said Susan Lehman, DVA executive director. “There are benefits to each sector of the DVA membership during events such as these, from increased sales, customer appreciation opportunities, community engagement, to taking the afternoon to spend with family and friends in a festive and family-friendly environment.”
Lehman also noted it’s because of the community support from DVA members, vendors, sponsors, city officials, volunteers and other stakeholders that the Sunshine Festival is so successful.
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“The list of thanks is long, but it’s important that we thank DVA members for continuing to financially support Sunshine Festival, our very generous sponsors, who whether in the DVA or not, always show tremendous support for this event, our dedicated staff and volunteers who we honestly could not put it all together without, and the City of Vernon for the public support and additional operational resources that are required to host a street festival of this size,” she said.
Although the festival did not break an attendance record, which may be attributed to various factors including high temperatures, it was the most vendor participation ever with 170 vendors lining 30th Avenue, and the feedback the DVA has received so far has been positive.
The next major events in Downtown Vernon start in July with the Civic Sounds concert series taking place on Thursdays on the steps of City Hall, and Try It @ Justice Park, a new health and wellness event during the lunch hour on Wednesdays.
For more information on events in Downtown Vernon, go here: https://downtownvernon.com/
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