Monday, September 27, 2010

City to sponsor numerous community events & festivals

One of the pillars of any healthy, pro-active communities is the ability for community agencies, governmental bodies, organizations, businesses, universities, colleges, and individuals to work collaboratively for the good of the community. That’s why I’m excited to tell you about the many activities and events that are planned in the Rolla area the next two weekends. I hope you be able to attend and participate in as many of these events as possible.

Let’s begin first with what’s happening on Friday, Oct. 1. The third annual Operation Neighborhood Cleanup will take place in the neighborhood homes south of 7th Street to Hwy. 72 and from Holloway Street to Elm Street. The clean-up will take place from 7 a.m. to 12-noon. The entire community is invited to participate in this beautification effort, which is once again being coordinated by the Rolla Area Ministerial Alliance and the Rolla Police Department. The clean-up effort will involve tree trimming, hedge trimming, and the removal of brush piles, household items and trash. All volunteers are asked to attend the welcome gathering on at 6:30 a.m. at the Christian Life Center located at the corner of Olive and 1st Streets. A complimentary breakfast will be provided. The 5-hour clean-up will conclude at 12-noon. Groups or individuals interested in volunteering for Operation Neighborhood Clean-up should contact SSgt. Rick Williams at the Rolla Police Department at 308-1213 or at rickwilliams@rollacity.org.

On Saturday, Oct. 2 the City of Rolla Environmental Services Department will hold the annual City-wide Fall Clean-up. If you wish to participate, please place all items near the curb by 6 a.m. Examples of items that will be accepted are furniture, microwaves, televisions, old clothes, and normal household trash. Items that will not be accepted are appliances, water heaters, yard waste, tires, or construction debris such as sheet rock, shingles, concrete or rock. Loose items should be placed in boxes or bags and small pieces of lumber should be bundled. We ask that you do not place rollout trash containers at the curb because during this special fall clean-up they will not be emptied. For more information, please call 364-6693.

Also scheduled for next Saturday, Oct. 2 is the ever popular 32nd annual Fall Arts and Crafts Festival. The Rolla Downtown Business Association (RDBA) will host the festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Pine Street in downtown Rolla. The event coincides each year with Missouri S&T homecoming festivities, and includes one-of-a-kind crafts, food, live entertainment and informational booths. For more information, please contact Robin Rogers at 573-341-5488 or Jodi Layman at 573-426-5148.

In closing I’d like to also encourage everyone to attend the Celebrations of Nations event, which will be held two weeks from today on Saturday, Oct. 9. Area residents and university students will have an opportunity to gather together to celebrate the vibrant cultural diversity that makes Rolla unique to the Missouri Ozarks. The event was created to promote awareness, understanding and the celebration of the ways cultural diversity enriches Rolla, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and the world. A Parade of Nations will kick off the event at 11 a.m. when the parade begins at the Missouri S&T Havener Center, (located on the Missouri S&T campus), travel through the downtown area, and end at the downtown bandshell (located in the City’s Downtown Festival Park on the corner of 9th and Oak Streets).

Colorful flags representing 82 countries of origin of the residents of this region will be carried in the parade. Community groups, marching bands and area school children are invited to participate. Following the parade, there will be festivities featuring international arts, crafts and food. There will also be an International Idol talent competition, which will be held at the downtown bandshell. For more information about the Celebration of Nations please contact Stephane Menand at menands@mst.edu. Sponsors of the event include the City of Rolla; Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center; Missouri S&T’s student chapter of Engineers Without Borders; and Missouri S&T’s economics department, international affairs’ office, leadership and cultural programs, provost’s office and student life department. 

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