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Canal Days is scaling back, but the annual festival in New Haven will include at least one new activity this year.
Tonight, the Indiana National Guard will host a community picnic at Schnelker Park complete with hot dogs, chips and drinks. The Fort Wayne Armory will provide a rock wall and inflatable obstacle course and will have military vehicles on display, according to the New Haven-Adams Township Park and Recreation Department.
Guard staff wanted to get involved after learning about the festival’s parade theme honoring military heroes and heroines, park director Mike Clendenen said.
The picnic will kick off the five-day festival, which was all but canceled in April because of a lack of corporate donations, sponsorships and advertising that pays for insurance, tents and entertainment. The non-profit festival committee planned to provide only the midway, canceling other events.
Because most of the canceled events were typically held in Schnelker Park, parks officials offered to step in and host those activities.
Any event hosted by the parks department would be covered under the park’s insurance policy, reducing the need to buy additional insurance – a major cost for the festival committee.
Allstar Communications donated $2,000 to provide insurance coverage for Saturday’s parade, which will feature several local veterans plus several Komet hockey players, the Turner Cup and the team’s mascot, Clendenen said.
Twenty local businesses stepped in to raise $3,000 to cover other festival costs. Clendenen expects to break even, he said. Organizers also had enough money to provide insurance for the 5K race, adding one more activity back to the festival, he said.
Most companies couldn’t manage large donations like Allstar. Instead, they contributed $50 or $100, said Cindy Frederick, board president of the New Haven Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber worked with the parks department to find the donors.
“It’s something that draws people into the community,” Frederick said. “It’s one of the things that sets our community apart.”
Despite the changes, Mayor Terry McDonald believes the festival will still be fun.
“It’ll be different,” he said. “I think it will still be a great time.”
