Verona Community Association switches from cattails to cars

Jeff Green | Apr 20, 2016

The popular Verona Cattail Festival, which was held annually on the weekend after the August long weekend, is no more. The Verona Community Association (VCA) canceled the festival earlier this winter because it has become more and more difficult to secure the kind of commitment from volunteer coordinators in order to keep the extensive program of the festival in place.

“Over our 20 years, many businesses and community supporters have given generous donations and volunteer time to support these events, particularly the Cattail Festival/Verona Festival. The Cattail Festival has been our annual fundraising event, which supports all our other activities and allows us to deliver the free events in our community, listed above. It not only provided funding for other events, but also was entertaining and had great activities for all ages. Because of the challenge in recruiting managers for this extensive event, we have had to move in a new direction,” said VCA President Wayne Conway, in a press release last week.

This year, on August 7, which would have been the Sunday of the festival, the VCA will hold the Verona Car Show at the Lions Centre on Sand Road in Verona.

“The car show portion of the Cattail Festival has always been a great success and we have a committed group of people who are making this year’s car show bigger and better than ever,” said Conway.

Established in 1996, the Verona Community Association has been very active in the village and the surrounding areas. They have welcomed new businesses to the community through their Village Ambassador program; have promoted local events through social and traditional media; and provided stage and other equipment rentals. They maintain the welcoming village signs on Road 38, the kiosk in the middle of the village as well as an events sign near Foodland. They manage www.yourverona.ca, providing information on Verona and promoting local events. Most recently they have been fundraising for an electronic sign to replace the current event sign. The majority of the costs for the sign have been raised.

Their committees run events such as the Flower Barrel Contest; Music in the Park; Community Christmas Dinner; Christmas for Kids; Christmas in the Village; Free Skate, and formerly, the Family Fishing Day.

“The objective of the VCA and its eight elected directors is to promote community involvement through activities that benefit the general public and that enhance our community through celebration, beautification and helping one another. With our community’s support and under the umbrella/guidance of the Township of South Frontenac, we hope to continue to operate successfully for another 20 years,” said Conway.

Conway also wanted to thank all the volunteers who have made the Cattail Festival such a success over the years.