December 15, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Ogden festival committee to meet tonight

The Ogden Festival will be bigger and better this year if organizer Kelly Cooper has anything to say about it.


“We hope to attract more participants, vendors and spectators,” she said. “We want to be able to bring some fun and liveliness back into the community at least for a weekend.”


In order to do that Cooper is looking for more volunteers for the festival committee.


The committee meets on the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at Ogden Village Hall.


Cooper said the committee is hoping to see the festival, which is held in August, grow bigger with more cars in the car show, more vendors at the flea market, additional food vendors and more activities for children.


Last year, the biggest challenge was planning a festival from the ground up.


“I had never done something like this,” said Cooper. “It was huge undertaking.”


Cooper said the festival committee, who had helped with previous events, helped her make sure the event was successful.


“ I wanted to make sure that it was well organized and ran as smooth as possible,” she said.


Cooper said the goal of the committee was to offer activities for a wide range of ages as well as making sure to have activities that were free.

Another challenge was making sure the event had enough volunteers.


“We were short on volunteers but were very grateful to all that helped us and hope they will again this year,” Cooper said.


Cooper said the most rewarding part of working on the festival committee was seeing Ogden residents enjoying themselves at the festival.


“It ran really smooth and people were surprised as to what we had to offer,” she said. “I was so happy with the turn out of participant for the car show, flea market, kiddie tractor pull and the event in general. This all could not have been done without the help of the committee, sponsors, village board or the spectators.”


Cooper said anyone interested in volunteering should attend the festival committee meeting tonight.


“It is a rewarding feeling to know that one is helping the community even if it is for a short period of time,” she said. “We are going to try to offer something to the people that volunteer to help attract them and make it interesting. I can not express how much appreciation goes out to those that help us make it a successful event, without them it would not be possible. We hope to be able to have more volunteers with ideas and open minds to help us this year.”

Banner
Related Posts

Tree lighting, Grinch scavenger hunt to take place today

December 2, 2023

December 2, 2023

The hunt for the Grinch is on. The Village of St. Joseph is hosting a scavenger hunt on Dec. 2...

Salon 192 to hold food drive

November 9, 2020

November 9, 2020

Amy Gibbons wants to help people. Gibbons, the owner of Salon 192 on Lincoln Street in St. Joseph, has organized...

Community Garage Sale dates set

February 26, 2019

February 26, 2019

The St. Joseph Spring Community Garage Sales will take place April 11-13. People wanting to place ads can email sromero@news-gazette.com....

Around Town March 12-15

March 11, 2019

March 11, 2019

If you want your event included please email us at stjosephrecord@gmail.com March 12 Summer Camp Registration All Day Registration for...

Changes to Garage Sale date announced

July 28, 2023

July 28, 2023

After discussing safety concerns with St. Joseph-Stanton Fire Protection District Fire Chief Josh Reese, The Record has decided to move...

Help the Forest Preserve District

May 5, 2021

May 5, 2021

Garlic mustard is beginning to grow and the Forest Preserve District could use your help to remove it. It is...

Willowdale Winter Wonderland to open tonight

December 9, 2020

December 9, 2020

The Willowdale subdivision north of St. Joseph has created a winter wonderland. Resident Lacey Smith organized the multi-night event which...

Talk of the Town… Halloween Parade edition

October 24, 2019

October 24, 2019

Every week we ask a St. Joseph official three questions. This week we talked to Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges about her...

SJO to host event for seniors

April 1, 2021

April 1, 2021

The administration at St. Joseph-Ogden High School wants to give their seniors some sense of normalcy.   “The decision to have...

Around town Jan. 28-Feb. 2

January 28, 2019

January 28, 2019

If you want your event included please email us at stjosephrecord@gmail.com Jan. 28-31Used book saleSt. Joseph Township Library, 201 N...

Weekend family fun guide for March 15-17

March 14, 2019

March 14, 2019

This weekend is jam packed with fun things to do with the family. March 15 The Savoy 16, located at...

Food pantry in need of donations

August 23, 2019

August 23, 2019

The shelves are almost bare at the St. Joseph Community Food Pantry. The pantry, housed in the St. Joseph Church...

PTC to host trunk or treat on Friday

October 24, 2019

October 24, 2019

St. Joseph PTC President Katie May loves the PTC Trunk or Treat event—and she hopes the community does as well....

Little Prince and Princess applications being accepted

July 1, 2019

July 1, 2019

The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring the Little Prince and Princess event in conjunction with the St....

Weekend Family Fun Guide

June 14, 2019

June 14, 2019

Every weekend we pick at least three events that we think are can’t miss for families in this area. This...

Comments
Leave a Reply