Festivities, food, fun the focus of HCAHC Spring Festival
The 46th annual Spring Benefit Auction & Festival will take place May 10-11 and is a family-friendly benefit auction with games, raffle prizes, food and entertainment. There will be an auction featuring plenty of Amish-crafted furniture, quilts and more.
But, most importantly, it is about people.
The festival will take place on the grounds of the Holmes County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and all the proceeds will benefit children and adults with developmental disabilities in Holmes County, courtesy of the Holmes County Association for Handicapped Citizens.
According to Marianne Mader, superintendent at the HCBDD, this event is a reunion, a homecoming and a feast all wrapped into one auction, and in benefiting the HCAHC, it will touch the lives of families all over Holmes County.
“It’s going to be very much like the festivals from the past. Why change something that’s working?” Mader said. “This is such a big event for our parent association (HCAHC). We have had a wonderful, long-standing relationship with them and work closely together. The funds raised will serve a critical role in providing funds for them to perform a number of important roles in our county, and they serve many of the individuals and the families we support. They are an amazing group who faithfully serves many families.”
Those roles include supporting the Holmes County Special Olympics team’s travel expenses, registration fees for tournaments, supplies and expenses in the HCBDD library, grants for agencies serving people with disabilities, and individuals with disabilities and their families who incur unique needs.
“A person with disabilities has to adapt to a lot of things in our world, and some of those adaptations are really expensive, so the HCAHC helps provide funds for equipment and services,” Mader said.
The HCAHC also budgets to provide respite care for families with individuals with a disability.
The weekend will kick off Friday, May 10 with the traditional giant volleyball tournament. The community is invited to stop by, enjoy the action, and get a burger, some soup or a bevy of treats from the bake sale.
This night also gives patrons a chance to view the many handcrafted quilts, crafts and furniture that will hit the auction block the next day.
While the volleyball action rolls along, there will be a full slate of live musical entertainment in the pavilion including Liberated Band, Lena Mullet and Bridgestone.
Saturday will begin bright and early with a breakfast featuring biscuits and gravy along with plenty of other breakfast options. The bake sale will be available all day until everything is sold out.
The craft and furniture auction will begin at 9 a.m., along with a silent auction. Simultaneously, there will be a secondary auction in the tent next to the pavilion featuring tools and other items.
There also will be children’s games from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1-3 p.m., and there will be the chicken barbecue and other food for lunch. Chicken carryout will begin mid-morning with meals starting around 11 a.m.
The quilt auction and special items auction will follow as the main stage in the pavilion continues to showcase one great item after another.
Then there is the 2024 raffle, which will include a Ferris mower with an estimated value of $7,500, a $2,000 Charm Merchants gift card, an e-Bike estimated at $2,000, a Pioneer Trails gift card valued at $750 and a Bosch mixer with an estimated value of $500.
“Tickets are $20, which may seem like a lot, but the value of these prizes is incredible,” Mader said. “Last year was our first raffle, and it really went well, so we expect this one to be just as successful.”
Raffle tickets will be sold throughout the festival with the drawing Saturday afternoon, and prices are $20 each, six for $100 or 40 for $500. For questions or to purchase raffle tickets, call Leroy Yoder at 330-893-3479, A. Burkholder at 330-600-9574, GentleBrook at 330-600-9843 or Holmes DD/Training Center at 330-674-8045.
