Showcasing the beauty of both Green County and Downtown Monroe to tourists can be achieved by taking a different spin on the traditional events of Oktoberfest, Halloween and the Chili Cookoff. Having a combination of all three on the third or fourth weekend of October would enhance the economic picture for all of Green County.
Start the festivities off on Friday with some polka music and dancing that folks seem to enjoy so much. Have a "battle of the bands" Green County style. Have the Green County Beef and or Pork Producers serve a great dinner.
A carnival would be a great idea for the weekend. The size that Cheese Days has had in the past would be appropriate. Let's see if the local charitable organizations would design and run the games meant for good clean family fun, and maybe even a haunted house. Have small tables available so kids can sit down and carve out a pumpkin and give the parents time to rest. Hay rides drawn by tractor would be a worthy addition, as well.
Start off Saturday with a pancake breakfast. Let's see if we can't put on a car show that the area hasn't seen in years. Have a holiday craft show on the courthouse grounds along with basket raffles. Have a store window display contest with a Halloween theme. The first place winner getting $750, second getting $250, while third gets $100.
Have the Farmers Market on its usual site, but feature products made and grown from all over Green County. When the farmers market is rolling out, roll in the Chili Cookoff into the same site. Have the contestants from all over county, and secure judges from a Madison and Rockford news team, someone from Dubuque and from the UW.
During the day, back on the main stage, offer activities for the entire family, such as a local school production of "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." Later on, we can have professional rock, jazz and pop bands take over the stage. In the later afternoon hours we could have a Halloween Parade with the kids "trick or treating" to the downtown businesses.
To top the weekend's event off, we could have a "Monster Mash" costume ball. It could be at the Monroe Middle School, with net profits going directly to the school district. I didn't forget the Oktoberfest aspect of the event, as it would be foolish not to showcase the Minhas Brewery, as well as the New Glarus Brewery, for this event.
Not only would this unveil the new landscaping on the Square, but would bring in money for the local charitable organizations and merchants alike . We can use this forum to advertise Cheese Days, William Tell Days, the Balloon Rally, and so on. Monroe also could do something like this on a smaller scale for "Christmas on the Square."
Start the festivities off on Friday with some polka music and dancing that folks seem to enjoy so much. Have a "battle of the bands" Green County style. Have the Green County Beef and or Pork Producers serve a great dinner.
A carnival would be a great idea for the weekend. The size that Cheese Days has had in the past would be appropriate. Let's see if the local charitable organizations would design and run the games meant for good clean family fun, and maybe even a haunted house. Have small tables available so kids can sit down and carve out a pumpkin and give the parents time to rest. Hay rides drawn by tractor would be a worthy addition, as well.
Start off Saturday with a pancake breakfast. Let's see if we can't put on a car show that the area hasn't seen in years. Have a holiday craft show on the courthouse grounds along with basket raffles. Have a store window display contest with a Halloween theme. The first place winner getting $750, second getting $250, while third gets $100.
Have the Farmers Market on its usual site, but feature products made and grown from all over Green County. When the farmers market is rolling out, roll in the Chili Cookoff into the same site. Have the contestants from all over county, and secure judges from a Madison and Rockford news team, someone from Dubuque and from the UW.
During the day, back on the main stage, offer activities for the entire family, such as a local school production of "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." Later on, we can have professional rock, jazz and pop bands take over the stage. In the later afternoon hours we could have a Halloween Parade with the kids "trick or treating" to the downtown businesses.
To top the weekend's event off, we could have a "Monster Mash" costume ball. It could be at the Monroe Middle School, with net profits going directly to the school district. I didn't forget the Oktoberfest aspect of the event, as it would be foolish not to showcase the Minhas Brewery, as well as the New Glarus Brewery, for this event.
Not only would this unveil the new landscaping on the Square, but would bring in money for the local charitable organizations and merchants alike . We can use this forum to advertise Cheese Days, William Tell Days, the Balloon Rally, and so on. Monroe also could do something like this on a smaller scale for "Christmas on the Square."
