Festival in ‘Top Ten’, But
Seeks Some New Blood

Randolph’s New World Festival has once again been selected as one of Vermont’s Top Ten Fall Events by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

And this year, the Festival is looking hard for some new volunteers to serve important roles in the Festival’s organization.

This is the sixth time that the lively one-day music festival has been selected for the designation, which helps to publicize it inside and outside the state.

Randolph’s showcase event, always held on Labor Day Sunday (Sept. 2 this year), takes its place in the Top Ten listing along with such notable events as the Stowe Oktoberfest, the World’s Fair in Tunbridge, and the Vermont State Fair in Rutland.

"We know we’re one of the top ten, but it’s good to be recognized by the Vermont Chamber, said Becky McMeekin, executive director of the Chandler Center for the Arts, which organizes the New World Festival.

However, McMeekin noted, the Festival finds itself at a "critical juncture" as it approaches its 15th year. Although about 150 people volunteer to help the Festival, it is actually run by a small committee, which really needs some new members, she said.

"Some of them have been doing this for 15 years and are finding it necessary to pull away a little," she said. "We need some new energy and new ideas."

This year, for instance, the committee has an immediate need of one or two people to head up the food tent. Susan Westbrook and Abbe Meiling, who have done a great job for several years, are stepping down from that responsibility in 2007.

The Festival also needs a publicity director, McMeekin pointed out. She said the committee can find a place for anyone who is committed to helping the event continue into the future.

Started by a group of a half-dozen volunteers in 1993, shortly after three fires devastated the downtown, the New World Festival has relied exclusively on volunteers, with staff help from Chandler, ever since. Even Kevin Dunwoody, the programming genius who has served as music director since the second year, has not been compensated—which is a "really amazing contribution," McMeekin noted.

Anyone interested in discussing a role with the New World Festival should contact her at 728-9878 or by email at becky@chandler-arts.org.

The New World Festival has been generously assisted from the very beginning by the Randolph National Bank and now has about a dozen business sponsors, plus support from the Canadian Consulate and the Province of Quebec, because of the exposure it gives to Quebeçois musicians.