A concerted effort is underway to sell all 4,500 tickets – even before the 19th Brockport Arts Festival planned for August 10-11 gets underway. Festival producer, not for profit BISCO, has embarked on an expected multi stage project with Walk! Bike! Brockport (WBB) to improve the community’s safety and image by making it part of the Walkable Communities effort publicized by Brockport’s own Mark Fenton.
Fenton, an international figure in the movement to make communities user-friendly for walking and biking, espouses creating more interactive and healthful environments for residents. Future stages each must go through the grant process and other grant sources are being solicited to piggy-back on the initial planning efforts with BISCO.
BISCO has earmarked up to $10,000 from Duck Derby ticket sales to go to the first phase of the project titled: Helping to Ensure Safe Routes to School. A committee chaired by Dr. James Goetz including Harry Donahue (Brockport DPW), Dan Varrenti (Brockport Chief of Police), Bill Andrews (Village of Brockport Trustee), Harry Shifton (WBB), Danielle Windus-Cooke (Sweden Town Board), Frank Short (College at Brockport), Robert Banzer (Brockport Central School District), Dan Hawken (community representative) and Pat Baker (BISCO) are finalizing a report in support of the grant request. More about project details will be forthcoming from WBB in July.
On August 11 at 3:30 p.m., the 17th Duck Derby will take place at Brockport’s Main Street bridge over the Erie Canal.
Most people buy tickets primarily to support their community, but everyone likes to win a prize. Odds of winning are significantly better than for the NYS Lottery. As usual, Wegmans led the way with a grant supplying $2,000 in gift cards; Lowe’s, 24/7 Fit Club, Rotary, 5 Star Bank and Sunnking also donated valued prizes. Any tickets not presold will be sold at the festival by the Sweden Senior Singers (also a beneficiary). As in the past, tickets are: one duckling ($5), a Quack Pac of 5 tickets ($20) and a Community Flock of 35 tickets ($100).
