At fifty-four acres in size, Mill Pond Park is the property of its sort in the City of Saline. Parks and Recreation calls it “an ever popular destination.” More importantly, it is owned by the taxpayers. [1]
When reading coverage on events such as the recently concluded Celtic Festival, a lot of attention is invariably given to setup preparations, event schedules, and even live reports from on the ground throughout. Excitement builds to crescendo. Then, when midnight Saturday came, the show was over. [2]
Then comes 12:01am — and the start of a period between “no longer Celtic Festival” and “not yet public park again.” Are there rules to provide guidance in navigating periods such as this? Undoubtedly. Carefully drawn contracts specific to the specific event, too, no doubt, addressing when? by whom? and to what degree?
The Boy Scouts of America have developed a value construct and imposed it upon themselves in order to make so much of the above superfluous. Dubbed “Leave No Trace,” it is described as “an awareness and an attitude rather than a set of rules.” And, it “applies in your backyard or local park as much as in the backcountry.” Application is simple. [3]
Help protect the backcountry by remembering that while you are there, you are a visitor. When you visit a friend, you take care to leave your friend’s home just as you found it …. When you visit the backcountry, the same courtesies apply. Leave everything just as you found it.
When Saline Journal first returned to Mill Pond Park just after 7:00am yesterday, most of the independent tents and ancillary setups had been removed. Two hours later, the horses were being prepared to load out. Most impressively, the grounds were relatively free of trash even during this stage of work.
Around 3:00pm, Saline Celtic posted a 15-second video with footage panning grounds from the parking lot and showing major work complete, major tents all dropped. Superimposed text read: “And just like that, the Festival is over & it’s a Park again. Until next year, Mill Pond Park!” Having been viewed just a few dozen times so far — no Comments, no Likes — it doesn’t come across as marketing; it couldn’t possibly have attracted another visitor nor signed another performer for 2018.
What it did do was this. It reflected an attitude. For the organizers, putting on another great Celtic Festival wasn’t over until Mill Pond Park was once again an unadulterated park.
Today is Monday, and with that city crews have started their regular work week. Saline Journal was a Mill Pond Park by 9:30am and staged items were disappearing on the backs of municipal vehicles at apace. Rolled fencing. Spectator bleechers. Golf carts. If promised rain this afternoon appears with any significance, much of the evidence that vehicles were granted special dispensation to traverse these park grounds should significantly diminish as well.
Having set this expectation is what continues to make Saline an attractive community for events. And embracing this attitude is the key for any organization that may be looking to make return engagements.
References
- “Mill Pond Park” Saline.
- Saline Celtic Festival (home page).
- “Leave No Trace” Boy Scouts of America.
- “salineceltic” Instagram.
Hashtags
#salineceltic
#salinecelticfestival
