Published: July 02, 2009 04:15 pm      

Festival relies on volunteer support

Chelsea L. McGowan

cmcgowan@weatherforddemocrat.com

An event the size of the annual Parker County Peach Festival takes months of planning, and countless hours of time to organize. But even with all the work that goes in beforehand, the festival could not be a success without a legion of dedicated volunteers.

“I literally don’t think we can count all the volunteers we had last year,” said Tammy Gazzola, president of the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce. “This is definitely a community event, and our volunteers work so hard.”

This year, the Peach Festival will be held on July 11, and many have already stepped forward to lend a helping hand. With thousands of visitors expected to attend from all over the state, Gazzola said every offer to help is appreciated.

“There’s always a need for volunteers,” she said. “We have things that just about any age group can help with, and there’s enough room for groups to volunteer together.”

According to Gazzola, volunteers can be placed in a number of different positions, such as driving golf carts, delivering ice, and working in booths. Although a volunteer schedule will be put together in advance, anyone interested is invited to show up next Saturday ready to get down to business.

“People can absolutely just show up on the day of the festival, and say they’re there to help,” Gazzola said. “We’ll put them to work. It takes a big team to pull this off, and we really count on our volunteers.”