Community Cultural Celebration
Gathering meeting minutes
Aug 26, 2006

Gathering opened at 10:00 am, Karen Hawkins (recording secretary)
Attendees: Mody Botros, Alan Crabtree, Sally Chappell, Joan Emerson, Ruth Glantz, Henry Hamilton, Karen Hawkins, Janet Jones, Joanne Morse, Mark Shag (reporter from Advertiser Democrat), Virginia “Jinx” Staples, Nancylou Stiles, Woody Woodward
Joanne and Nancylou led us in song followed by a prayer by Jinx.
Introductions were made and the last gathering’s minutes were accepted as corrected
Treasurer’s Report by Sally Chappell – paid out $110, donations received $250 (BUMC $50, Chamber $200), balance $440

Questions & Concerns
* Nancylou is very pleased with all the gatherings and people’s participation, she needs surgery and will need help with her duties for the celebration (keep her in your prayers)

Discussions
* Woody has a sound system we can use (has a wireless mic)
* Shane Doyle of Naples (693-7256) offered use (for free) of his collection of 16 mm films (has almost every country) and projection equipment (these would be great for fillers)
* Sat Oct 14 a potluck luncheon gathering will be held (10 am – 2 pm) to brainstorm for next year, 1 hour of discussion followed by luncheon (international food was suggested)
* Ruth plans another spaghetti supper on Friday, Sept 1 and needs help, the yard sale and supper on Aug 19 raised about $350 to help pay for Native American and Nigerian presenters.
* Henry suggested a silent auction fundraiser, he is donating a picture from a friend in Afghanistan for that auction, copyright issues were addressed
* PR – Janet made up flyers for the spaghetti supper and distributed them, CCC flyers were also distributed, she sent letters to non-profits regarding selling food for supper (only one reply to date – from the Explorers), SAD 61 & 72 were asked to distribute flyers, 400 flyers will be distributed in the Chamber Chatter, Janet is doing a great job, a question was raised about conflicting with the Oxford Fair – subsequent discussion made note there would be a conflict with something no matter what dates had been picked
* Door Prizes – Joan has 9 tangible items so far, she needs transportation to visit 7 more businesses, Karen will give Joan copies of the flyer Janet made to distribute to businesses
* Woody offered to house presenters if necessary (at a substantial discount)
* Fundraising – the Chamber donated $200, BUMC collected $50 in offering plate so far, Poland Springs donated 2000 bottles of water (Henry offered to pick these up on a Tues or Thur 9 am – noon),a request to Poland Springs for t-shirts is attached to original minutes (no reply yet), Mody talked about local businesses sponsoring shirts with name and logo on back of CCC shirt (large ($200 – 250) or small ($100) logo determines cost of sponsorship) Maine Street Graphics will add their log and take $1 off the cost of each shirt (wholesale cost is $7.50), suggested retail price is $10
* Mark suggested contacting Summit Springs for a donation, Mody will give Nancylou a list of businesses sponsoring shirts in the past
* we have a banner from Food City (Hannaford declined to provide money for one)
* Karen will be making a new brochure with more details to distribute after she receives completed info from Nancylou
* Janet and Karen will create a program with sponsors included for event
 
Scheduling:
Sept 16 – Irish (food, soda bread, demonstrations every half hour, the last half hour instruction in dance will be given)
 Sept 17 – Korea (food, clothing, music, photos) Chon Choi is coordinator, China (1 hour power point presentation from 2-3 pm)
Sept 18 – Marshall Islands (video presentations, handcrafts, discussion, sample of typical native foods) Andy Burt & John Demos will present along with Sally, Arctic People (Gwich’in), speaker on climate change and global warming (Sally is coordinator)
Sept 19 – Uzbekistan (Woody is coordinator), (food, music, history, clothing)
Sept 20 –Afghanistan (3-5 pm) (photos – then and now, travel in Afghanistan, women in Afghanistan, music, artifacts, literature, refugee project, native green tea (Nancylou is coordinator), Nigeria (5-8 pm) (drums, music, culture, clothing, handcrafted items) (Ruth and Karen are coordinators)
Sept 21 – Native American (native tongue spoken, venison meal to be served, clothing, music, dance, Native American craft vendor) (Ruth and Karen are coordinators)
Sept 22 – American Melting Pot – Cook Out Supper by UMW (for a nominal fee), Lake Region High School Jazz Band, (cultural questionnaire game – format like a spelling bee, local schools compete against each other, awards to be given – CCC will pay for award cups, firemen may ask questions, principals to be judges)  (Mody is coordinator)
Sept 23 – Germans - samples of real German pastries from a menu, native language, pictures and info about Germany(Joanne is coordinator)
Sept 24 – Diversity Celebration Day (wind up with info from each previous presentation), Tim Wilson from “The Seeds of Peace” will be the keynote speaker, Bob Underwood – bagpipes, Troubadors, Folk dancing, Lake Region High School Jazz Band, silent auction winners (Henry in charge of auction) (Nancylou is coordinator)
* it was discussed we encourage a percentage of vendors’ sales to be donated to the gathering
* donation box for visitors

Gathering closed at: 12:00 pm   Next Gathering – Sept 9 from 10:00 am - noon