Volunteers Rock City Hall
It was an overflow crowd recently when citizens filled the City Council Chambers, eager to become part of the growing phenomenon called Cedar Cove Days. After nearly 18 months of planning, organizers have now begun in earnest the process of staffing the event that will showcase Port Orchard and our surrounding vistas. “Approximately 60 People showed up to volunteer and more are needed, “said Councilman Jerry Childs. “We want people to come and help us roll out the welcome mat and give our guests a great northwest experience.”
The community festival, named for the fictional town in Debbie Macomber’s best selling series about her hometown of Port Orchard, is scheduled to take place August 26-30, 2009. The event features opportunities for fans to get up close and personal with Macomber, and include Teas, Book Chats, a Character Parade and Sock Hop featuring Jr. Cadillac, and the festival’s signature event a Gala Cruise to Kiana Lodge for a gourmet dinner and evening with the renowned author.
A good number of service clubs and groups will be participating as Cedar Cove Days volunteer organizations. Several sent spokespersons to the meeting--the ever growing list is presented in no particular order on the left for your appreciation. Volunteers were briefed on the progress of the event and told of the various ways they can help. According to Executive Director, Cindy Lucarelli, “Individuals or groups interested in volunteering are encouraged to call (360) 801-4311 or go to our website. We always encourage our volunteers to bring friends or family members---sharing the experience and adding your own fun to the occasion.”
Ticket Sales Brisk – Some Events Nearly Sold Out
At six months out from our August opening, ticket sales for the 4-day arts and literacy event continue to be steady. While Bus Tours and Teas are nearly sold out, tickets for the newly added Up Close Chat with Debbie are selling briskly but still available. Also still available are the tickets to our signature event, the wonderful Gala Cruise to Kiana Lodge. Ticket information and sales: www.cedarcovedays.com
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?
You are probably wondering just who is coming to this thing? Well, glad you asked! Cedar Cove Association, our sponsoring organization, has already processed ticket orders representing 25 states as well as 3 foreign countries. This is pretty impressive when dealing with the economic conditions at hand. These folks are real Debbie Macomber fans, and have not become all “wobbly knee’d” over this otherwise troubling circumstance.
The Cedar Cove Days Story as told by Jerry Childs
One Saturday morning in July 2007 my wife, Shannon, and I were lounging around reading the morning paper and drinking coffee. Shannon read an article in our local paper, the Port Orchard Independent; entitled Local Author’s Map Can Draw In Tourists. She commented about the map and article, and how fans of a local author named Debbie Macomber were coming to Port Orchard from virtually all over the country. It seems they wanted to see the sites and places she writes about her New York Times best selling series of books about a fictional northwest town called Cedar Cove. Shannon showed me the map, which astonishingly looked like Port Orchard; that is because it was Port Orchard!
I found it incredible that people were coming here pretty much unsolicited and said to my wife. “Hey, if they are coming here without any prompting from us at all, what would happen if we actually did something? What if we put on an event, some kind of arts and literary festival, and called it something like Cedar Cove Days, and invited her readers to come?”
I took the idea to our local neighborhood improvement group; a civic minded collection of neighbors interested in improving our town; and, aptly called DNA – Downtown Neighborhood Association. I asked them whether we as a group would be willing to put on such an event? The response was immediately affirmative, and so off I went to call Debbie Macomber, a person I had never met, and invite her to a meeting.
Those who know Debbie know that she is a very busy lady; so after a week without a reply to my call and message, I pretty much thought this was a dead deal. Then one Sunday, I got a call, and it was Debbie. She apologized for taking so long to get back to me and said she was out on tour. I told her a little bit about my idea and asked if she would be willing to meet with our group. She said that she would be glad to.
Debbie did come to that first meeting at the Michael’s Bed and Breakfast. As most of you know by now, they have changed the name of their establishment to Cedar Cove Inn—quite appropriate wouldn’t you think?
Anyway, Debbie liked my idea, liked our group and so after a lot of brainstorming, a second meeting was scheduled. As she was walking out the door, she said she would have her publicist send out an email blast and ask her fans what they might think about such an idea. I have to admit, I was curious at the prospect, and wondered how many people she could possibly be talking about. I asked, “Debbie, how many people are on your list?” Now, you have to understand, that my email list is maybe a 100 names. So I’m thinking surely more than that, but I was not prepared to hear her answer: “Oh, about 100,000.” I thought, “Toto, we are not in Kansas any more.”
The second meeting was at the Childs house on Kitsap Street. Debbie brought along her two publicists Nancy Berland from Oklahoma and Leslee Borger from New York. As you might imagine, we found this impressive that she and her publisher would incur the expense to do such a thing. Again, we had a great meeting, and found much common ground and affirmation to move the project ahead.
Group member, Cindy Lucarelli, became our Executive Director and the framework for Cedar Cove Days began to take shape. During these early stages (late 2007), no one knew what this all meant; the time commitments, and really, the magnitude. But, I think these things work better when you don’t—otherwise you might not do it!
Next month we’ll continue the story: Kitsap Bank says yes to our little fledgling group, Cedar Cove Association comes to life, and Lucarelli and Childs head to Toronto with big results…
Hi Everyone!
Next, we have added two more bus tours and they are already flying out the window, so don't hesitate to order bus tour tickets if you want some. 
