Fall events planned for Manawa

By Jane Myhra

Fall Fest, Taste of Home and a raffle are among the fall events scheduled for Manawa.

Brenda Vanden Zanden, promotions manager for the Manawa Area Chamber of Commerce, provided an event update during the chamber’s Aug. 6 meeting, at Winemaker’s Daughter.

“We’re going to have a busy fall,” Vanden Zanden said.

The annual Fall Fest will be held on Saturday, Sept. 19, in downtown Manawa. In addition to a craft fair, the event will include a chili cook-off and duck races.

The Taste of Home returns to Manawa at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. Vanden Zanden expects to sell 250-300 tickets to the event.

“I think it was one of the best things Manawa did as far as promotion last year,” she said.

According to Vanden Zanden, the chamber will sponsor a soup walk in mid-October. The purpose is to get people into participating businesses to sample a soup.

Vanden Zanden encouraged businesses to use the event as a “fall open house opportunity.”

The chamber’s 50/50 raffle will benefit Little Wolf Junior/Senior High School. A total of 500 tickets will be sold, with the drawing on Sept. 3.

In other business, the chamber approved purchasing a new full-color LED downtown sign and three outskirt signs for a total of $14,400.

The new sign is intended to replace the current sign at Triangle Park. The outskirt signs will replace existing signage on State Highway 22 and County Trunk B.

Before placing the two-sided downtown sign, the chamber will need approval from the Improvements and Services Committee, Manawa Common Council and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

To pay for the signs, the chamber will use $11,500 from the project fund and the remainder from the general fund.

Joe and Amy Starr, of Crosscut Solutions, reported on their token project. The program is intended as a way to reward children.

The tokens, with the inscription “I was caught being good,” are distributed by the Manawa Police Department. Each token is good for an ice cream treat at The Store, Remington’s Quality Foods or Cruisin’ In.

Currently, the Starrs fund the program and buy back the tokens from participating businesses.

“This program generates a lot of goodwill,” said Ellen Connor, director of Sturm Memorial Library.

Any business wishing to help with the program should contact Joe and Amy Starr.

The chamber recognized the addition of members TK Bar & Grill and Dreams of Jeanne Wellness Advocates.

A ribbon cutting for Winemaker’s Daughter followed the meeting.