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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-02-22 Millennium Steering Committee Minutesi s ~ l fi~b-- hi g h X1 e 1w i oigiiag Pa T 1; rty i~xax }h2i7tiIH~ AAt~SS:ii~tlt5f'ff~ v December' ;11, 1999 Minutes Millennium Steering Committee February 22, 1999 Meeting # 13 The meeting was convened at 7:12 PM in the Berger Room at Town Hall. In attendance: Anna Carroll Foulds, Alan Foulds, Alan Smith, and Steve Crook. Business 9 '°'a ti ,2: $ 2: # 1. The minutes of the February 3rd, 1999 meeting were approved, with one typo correction. 2. Correspondence Karen Sawyer received E-Mails from people in Quebec and Illinois who are interested in attending the festivities here in town. Betty Cronin contacted the committee with the idea of staging an aerobics demonstration as part of the celebration. 3. Sub-committee reports Uptown 2000 - There is nothing new to report. Birch Meadow 2000 - The Boosters are on board for taking care of the food during the big party at the field house. A sub-committee will meet this week. Alan S. will meet with them next week. Alan S. is working with Bill Endslow to develop sketches of the two venues for marketing purposes. The YMCA is on board. Lorraine Dennis is our contact. They have considered several ideas for the site, including a "Nightspot" for Middle Schoolers, an obstacle course, a climbing wall, which would be borrowed from the Woburn Y, and some sort of musical event in the lobby. They have offered 6 vans for use in transporting people from and to the square. Staffing is still an issue. Talent Co-ordinators - A presentation was made to the talent co-ordinators, Lorraine Dennis and Karen Samatis, giving them an overview of the entire celebration. To date, they have made several contacts. Although they have had several non-responses, they have lined up the Colonial Chorus, a classical string quartet, Eddie Dee, who will run both a children's show and a sixties style coffee house for adults, and they have a lead on an emcee. They are also following up on the idea of generating several musical "videos" by various artists in the community. Alan S. and Steve will communicate with Dave Bunten, to see about including music from the several high school musical groups. Electronic Communication - Alan F. and Ace met with Brenda Smith, President of RCTV, and Mark Kelsey, the newly appointed Director of the studio to discuss possibilities for the celebration. Dianne Foulds has volunteered to work on establishing contact with web radio stations from the various time zones. It is hoped to have live broadcasts with mention of Reading, from as many time zones as possible. Written Communication - Both the Advocate and the Chronicle have published our call for volunteers several times. 4. Fund Raising Activities Marketing matrices for both Uptown 2000 and Birch Meadow 2000 have been sent to Kathryn Whitenack. Kathryn will be working with Mary to develop a marketing strategy. 5. Midnight Celebration Alan F. presented a plan for celebrating midnight. Judging by the responses from out-of-town, showing a strong interest in a folksy and historical celebration, a plan was presented, which reflects the celebration held here 100 years ago. The main ceremony would take place on the Common. At 11:45 all Uptown 2000 activities would come to an end, except for those in the tent on the Common. At 11:55 some sort of glow would begin, creating an aura, as the end of the century nears. At midnight, townspeople would count down the chimes of the Old South clock as they did a century ago. At the last tolling the militia cannon would fire, and a tethered weather balloon would rise behind the church, illuminated by a searchlight, and bearing some sort of new years greeting. The band in the tent would strike up Auld Lang Syne. Following that, all activity in the square would cease, except for recorded versions of Auld Lang Syne, which would be heard throughout the Square for 'h hour. All of this activity would be cablecast to a large screen TV at the Field House. At 11:55 special lighting would be used to match that in the Square. At midnight confetti cannons near the screen would shoot, followed by balloons being dumped into the Field House from above. The band would strike up Auld Lang Syne. Following the ceremony, the all-night party would continue at the Field House. 6. Open Discussion - Ace announced that Peter Hechenbleikner will take on the role of Government liaison, for now. He will attend the next meeting with several department heads. The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 PM. to March 3, 1999.