WAVELAND — As seventh-grader Emery Allen, who belongs on Broadway, stepped up to the town park’s stage Friday evening with a medley of show tunes, vendors sold their wares before closing down the farmer’s market for the season.
The small town summer evening was put on by nonprofit community group Waveland Strong, which will further its mission of promoting the town thanks to a local farmer’s donation.
Darren Simpson, who lives east of Waveland, presented the volunteers with a $2,500 grant from the America’s Farmers Grow Communities program, sponsored by the Bayer Fund. Simpson said he directed the money to the group as a way to help more than one organization.
Waveland Strong supports local churches and Montgomery County 4-H.
“I’m very glad to see that they’re doing things that needs to done around the community. They really stepped up when we had a hole [in the community] I guess you could say,” Simpson said after presenting the check.
“They’re doing a lot of good things with the talents they have.”
The group is waiting on other grant funding, which will help determine how the donation is spent, Waveland Strong president Troy Phillips said.
With Parke County’s Covered Bridge Festival canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the group will look for ways to support vendors who set up at the event. A Christmas bazaar is already in the works.
A family game night will be held Sept. 18, followed by a progressive dinner on Sept. 26. A community garage sale is set for October.
The group has also carried out a series of beautification projects, including at the park.
“We’ve created a presence, and this is the kind of go-to organization in town,” member Gina Haile said. “They like what we’re doing and they want to help.”
