‘The Heat Is On’
This Saturday

"The Heat Is On" will have dual meanings this Saturday, July 26, in downtown Randolph. A celebration of summer by participating merchants in downtown Randolph, "The Heat Is On" is a forum to raise awareness of the need for fuel assistance for local families in the coming winter months, and a chance for residents and visitors to experience all that downtown Randolph has to offer.

The day will begin at 10 a.m. with special sales and money-saving offers from participating merchants throughout downtown. At approximately 10:30 a.m., free entertainment will begin at the gazebo. Scheduled throughout the day, performers include Beth Telford and friends on fiddles, youth drummer Jesse Wakefield (as seen at Mini-Mud) with vocalist Jacob Benoir, percussionist Barry Vermont, and Katie Manchester, performing her belly-dancing routine.

In addition, Cover to Cover Books has arranged family read-alouds, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at various locations, including Cover to Cover, The Rosebud, Mugwart and Malachite, The Randolph Depot and Patrick’s Place. A complete list of stories and locations will be available July 26 from Cover to Cover Books.

The Rosebud and Mugwart and Malachite will feature character cutouts for fun photo opportunities, and the No Strings Marionette Company will stroll around downtown as well. Of course, no festival is complete without face painting and sidewalk chalk art, and as an added bonus, guests visiting each of the businesses with the flying celestial sun balloon will receive raffle tickets that can be completed and entered into a drawing for one of three gift baskets, each valued at over $250. To enter into the drawing, guests can visit Mid-State Sports on Weston Street, Fenix Fine Foods on Merchants Row, or The Rosebud on Main Street with their completed raffle tickets between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

In an effort to bring attention to the increasing cost of heating, the Randolph Downtown Business Committee has arranged for CVCAC and REECH to be available to assist with questions and have applications available for heating assistance for the winter.

"All of us as business people are concerned about our community and our customers and we felt that it was appropriate that on a hot day in the downtown, billed as "The Heat Is On," that we support organizations that help keep the heat on for those who cannot afford to," says event chairperson, Karen Delaney of Fenix Fine Foods. As a result of that decision, the following businesses will make charitable contributions to CVCAC and/or REECH: Fenix Fine Foods, Mugwart and Malachite, Patrick’s Place Restaurant, Cover to Cover Books, The Frankenburg Agency, and The Herald of Randolph. Monies raised during "The Heat Is On" by those businesses will be donated to CVCAC and/or REECH, in hopes of making this year’s heating costs a little easier for a local family in need.

Everyone who comes to downtown Randolph July 26 for "The Heat Is On" can pick up raffle tickets where they see the celestial sun balloon flying.

For further information or to participate in "The Heat Is On," contact event chairperson, Karen Delaney at Fenix Fine Foods, 728-3439.

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