Last Modified: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 6:41 p.m.
Last year, Petalumans dug into their pockets to save the annual Veterans' Day parade after it lost city funding, and now they are being asked to keep on digging to support the popular Butter & Egg Days celebration next month.
Event organizers in the past had received $15,000 from the city, which also didn't charge the estimated $26,000 in police and public works costs associated with parade and related activities that bring 20,000 people to downtown Petaluma to celebrate its agricultural and dairy history.
Not this year.
“That's a $40,000 swing on our budget,” said organizer Toni Bodenhamer. “So we're soliciting sponsors. Without their donations, we're stuck.”
This year's 30th annual Butter and Egg Days parade, with a theme of “Petaluma's Shining Moments,” is April 24, followed by an antique fair the next day.
With a city budget deficit of nearly $1 million looming, funding for such popular community events was quietly cut during the past several months' belt tightening.
The city hotel tax revenues, traditionally allocated to the tourism center, veterans parade, Butter & Egg Days and last year an American Graffiti-style cruise, was diverted to basic City Hall services, forcing the groups to find other funding sources.
“The city doesn't want to see the Petaluma Butter & Egg Days Parade go away .
.
. I believe they want to help, I just know they can't,” said Marie McCusker, executive director of the Petaluma Downtown Association, which puts on the parade.
Friedman's Home Improvement and Merlone Geier Partners, which want to build Friedman's and Lowe's home improvement stores in Petaluma, stepped in to donate the $12,500 needed to cover costs for the November veterans parade.
Friedman's and Straus Family Creamery have each committed $5,000 toward the Butter & Egg celebration, while longtime sponsors Bank of Marin and Clover Stornetta are continuing their support, among others, Bodenhamer said.
Still, organizers need to raise more than $20,000.
Cruisin' on the Boulevard will have to come up with $10,000 more than last year for its May 13-15 event, which organizer John Furrer estimates brings 30,000 people to the city.
For Butter & Egg Days, organizers hope to raise $8,000 through a button campaign. The $5 red and yellow “We love our parade” buttons give wearers the ability to join the last unit of the parade, and downtown merchants will offer discounts to those wearing one during the week before the parade.
Fundraisers have been held at Taps Restaurant and Tasting Room and at the Phoenix Theater.
“We can't say that we can do this every single year, but we hope that we can try and minimize the blow for us at the end of the day,” McCusker said.
The possibility of losing a parade that's older than he is spurred Petaluma native James Bellefeuille, 25, to create bumper stickers that read “Don't rain on my parade” and steer people to a Web site where people will be able to donate to the cause.
Although this year's parade will happen, McCusker isn't so optimistic about next year.
“We were in a quandary whether we could do this or not,” she said.
“We decided at the end of the year, we can't lose this. If you lose a year, you lose momentum. It's amazing how a community can pull together. If everyone gave a dollar, we'd be fine. But it's hard to tell at this point.”
<p>Last year, Petalumans dug into their pockets to save the annual Veterans' Day parade after it lost city funding, and now they are being asked to keep on digging to support the popular Butter & Egg Days celebration next month.</p><p>Event organizers in the past had received $15,000 from the city, which also didn't charge the estimated $26,000 in police and public works costs associated with parade and related activities that bring 20,000 people to downtown Petaluma to celebrate its agricultural and dairy history.</p><p>Not this year.</p><p>“That's a $40,000 swing on our budget,” said organizer Toni Bodenhamer. “So we're soliciting sponsors. Without their donations, we're stuck.”</p><p>This year's 30th annual Butter and Egg Days parade, with a theme of “Petaluma's Shining Moments,” is April 24, followed by an antique fair the next day.</p><p>With a city budget deficit of nearly $1 million looming, funding for such popular community events was quietly cut during the past several months' belt tightening.</p><p>The city hotel tax revenues, traditionally allocated to the tourism center, veterans parade, Butter & Egg Days and last year an American Graffiti-style cruise, was diverted to basic City Hall services, forcing the groups to find other funding sources.</p><p>“The city doesn't want to see the Petaluma Butter & Egg Days Parade go away .<TH>.<TH>. I believe they want to help, I just know they can't,” said Marie McCusker, executive director of the Petaluma Downtown Association, which puts on the parade.</p><p>Friedman's Home Improvement and Merlone Geier Partners, which want to build Friedman's and Lowe's home improvement stores in Petaluma, stepped in to donate the $12,500 needed to cover costs for the November veterans parade.</p><p>Friedman's and Straus Family Creamery have each committed $5,000 toward the Butter & Egg celebration, while longtime sponsors Bank of Marin and Clover Stornetta are continuing their support, among others, Bodenhamer said.</p><p>Still, organizers need to raise more than $20,000.</p><p>Cruisin' on the Boulevard will have to come up with $10,000 more than last year for its May 13-15 event, which organizer John Furrer estimates brings 30,000 people to the city.</p><p>For Butter & Egg Days, organizers hope to raise $8,000 through a button campaign. The $5 red and yellow “We love our parade” buttons give wearers the ability to join the last unit of the parade, and downtown merchants will offer discounts to those wearing one during the week before the parade.</p><p>Fundraisers have been held at Taps Restaurant and Tasting Room and at the Phoenix Theater.</p><p>“We can't say that we can do this every single year, but we hope that we can try and minimize the blow for us at the end of the day,” McCusker said. </p><p>The possibility of losing a parade that's older than he is spurred Petaluma native James Bellefeuille, 25, to create bumper stickers that read “Don't rain on my parade” and steer people to a Web site where people will be able to donate to the cause.</p><p>Although this year's parade will happen, McCusker isn't so optimistic about next year.</p><p>“We were in a quandary whether we could do this or not,” she said. </p><p>“We decided at the end of the year, we can't lose this. If you lose a year, you lose momentum. It's amazing how a community can pull together. If everyone gave a dollar, we'd be fine. But it's hard to tell at this point.”</p>