Whitehouse cherry fest, firemen's meeting to be as one

12/17/2008

Two major summer events in Whitehouse, a festival and a regional fire convention, will be combined in order to boost participation and cut costs, organizers of the events have announced.

The 27th Whitehouse Cherry Festival and the Northwest Ohio Fireman's Convention will be held jointly on June 19 and 20.

The cherry festival is usually held the second weekend in June, and the convention closer to the end of the month, organizers said.

Attendance for the combined events could reach 30,000, said Brian Rozick, president of the Whitehouse Fire Association.

The normally separate parades for the events also will be combined, boosting their length by about two hours.

The combined parade will be a special way for Whitehouse to mark the 135th anniversary of the fire convention, which is hosted by a different community every year, according to Mr. Rozick.

"It's definitely going to be a bigger attraction than usual," he said.

The Whitehouse Chamber of Commerce, sponsor of the Cherry Festival, will share event costs with the fire department, including the rental of golf carts for event staff, chamber president Josh Torres said.

Combining both events also will minimize police resources required to staff the events.