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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-12-TOUR2-Antony-min Approved 4/10/2014 Minutes for Antony Working Group meeting of the Lexington Tourism Committee on March 12, 2014 Meeting began at 7:10 PM --- adjourned at 9:00 PM Present at meeting: Dawn McKenna, Maureen Poole, Christina Gamota, George Gamota, Tony Galaitsis, Kitty Galaitsis, Cathy Sullivan, Marie-Tristan Rago Documents available for review: Minutes of February 26, 2014 th Packets of materials to be made available to the public on March 15’s Voyages en Francophonie List of items to bring for set up on Friday afternoon at Cary Hall Events: th a)Voyages en Francophonie, March 15 --- Preparation has included publicity through Constant Contact list (2000 names) as well as notice on Trip Advisor (Lexington page), town wide calendar, and front page of town website. Kitty posted in Fiske and Diamond newsletters. Also used the list of about 350 who are interested in French events. A Liberty Ride discount card, such as one used at AAA conference, will be printed and placed in the packets for th March 15. Bulk of the evening’s discussion concerned specifics about set up, number of tables needed, placement of our table, best materials to bring. Marie-Tristan spoke about prizes and ideas were offered about how to give them out. Maureen will pick up tables from Tony/Kitty and George/Christina on Friday afternoon around 4 PM or a little later and bring them to Cary Hall. There was consideration, for the future, of scrapbooks online. Also, for next year, Dawn spoke of possibility of having flags from all the countries represented. Cathy will look into what could be displayed at the table to show the high school connection with Antony. Dawn, Fred and Maureen will bring materials over from the Tourism office to Cary Hall between 3 and 4 PM on th Friday afternoon. A list was passed around for volunteers to staff the table between 10 AM and 5 PM on March 15, as well as 9:30 AM arrival for first two staffers and after 5 PM clean-up, materials brought back to Tourism office, tables and other items returned to owners. As the packets were being perused, Tony initiated a discussion about what items might be included or excluded for th the purposes of March 15. Marie-Tristan offered information about how the vendors had contributed to the event. It was decided to remove any individual flyers for businesses, but retain those that provided info about events in Lexington. Discussion about this will continue at next meeting when EFGB members can make clear how the financial backing of their Voyages businesses impacts what would be appropriate for our packets to include. George suggested including information on the historic background of the Masonic Hall in future visitors’ guides. b)Art in the Park, May 2014 --- This event, part of Revolutionary Revelry as Christina envisions it, would depend on whether construction of the Park is completed. Perhaps it would be possible if 70% or more of the Park was finished, this will be scheduled for May or the Fall once we know the timeline for the construction. c)Discovery Day, May 24, 2014 --- Not certain if Antony Group will stage a Discovery Day table. Tony and George are “maybes” to oversee it, but not sure now if they will be in town. No one else at this meeting was able to commit to supervising this project. d)La Musique en Fete, May 31, 2014 --- EFGB may be able to participate with enhancing this event, helping with Games for Kids. “Tap into History” will start at the Visitors’ Center and end at the “Fairgrounds. Possibly the high school will be involved with musical groups. Cathy mentioned that the Follen Church Choir is looking for musical groups, individuals of all ages. Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Minutes of February 26, 2014 were approved as amended. Approved 4/10/2014 French Language Marketing --- There will be a warrant article requesting money to develop a video and content that will appeal to French visitors. We should be thinking about what content to be part of the materials about Lexington. This will be an opportunity to reach Antony and French visitors. The content will be placed on the federal government BrandUSA website: www.discoveramerica.com, the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) www.massvacation.com and our Lexington website. Both the federal government and the State will use the photos, articles, and video to lure French citizens to travel to Massachusetts and the US. Antony Park --- Dawn presented information about the trees and plantings. Seasons Four is waiting to hear from DPW when digging will begin. They still plan to donate the materials and have kept the plants that were delivered last Spring watered over the winter. Water and electrical is to be first. First contract is signed for excavation work and all pathways to be laid out. Second contract will be for rest of hardscape. The Third contract will cover what is remaining in the first phase of the project. Subsequent work will include the rest of hardscape to be done, stone work, art work on flat stone work, as well as a central focal piece. The prep work by DPW will take a couple of days, the first contract a week or two. Trees and plantings should be installed by the end of May. Christina brought up that plants will need a maintenance plan. Dawn will ask Dave Pinsonneault to obtain an th estimate for a sprinkler system for the Park. Dawn thinks that by our next meeting on April 10, she’ll have a more accurate timeline. We will need then to come up with a maintenance plan. The town will do the planting. Seasons Four has given a substantial donation toward the project, but doesn’t want publicity for that. A French A Faire Christina noted the need for a debriefing session about , as did Maureen; it is planned for April th 10. There was no time remaining for the rest of the Agenda items --- deferred to next meeting. Respectfully submitted, Maureen Poole