Chamber Recaps Frontier Days, Plans for Fall

At the monthly Whitehall Chamber of Commerce meeting on Thursday, August 12, the Chamber recapped the successful Frontier Days event and began plans for the Fall Festival in October.

All agreed that the July Frontier Days event brought in the largest crowds in recent memory, with a packed rodeo, massive crowds at the parade, large turnout for the rod run, and happy vendors. Plans for the 2022 event have already begun.

The Chamber coordinator position is still open and needs to be filled. The Board has received five applications and interviews will be conducted as soon as possible with decisions on hiring centered on a scoring rubric and interview outcomes.

The Fall Festival will be chaired by Alison Richardson and Liz Pullman this year and will be activity centered. It is slated for Saturday, October 23. A Fall Festival Carnival at the Main Street Green the evening of the 23rd, in conjunction with the Screams Come True Haunted House has been proposed and Pullman will be reaching out to the chairs of local entities (Garden Club, 4H clubs, Rotary Club, etc.) to gauge interest in the carnival booths proposed. Whitehall businesses will also be contacted in order to engage them in the Fall Festival activities as well.

Kit Mather, the original artist who created the Whitehall Lewis & Clark murals over twenty years ago, attended the meeting in order to give input on the Chamber’s mural restoration/replacement project. Mather mentioned that when the murals were originally created, durability, light fastness, and portability were not considered. Twenty plus years later, Mather said, there are many options to replace the murals with materials that will withstand Whitehall’s wind and sun. Murals on wood, including the K-Bar, Jefferson Fresh Foods, and Rocky Mountain Bank are in the most dire need of repair.

It was discussed and decided to work on the Jefferson Fresh Foods mural first, as it receives the most traffic and visibility due to traveler’s grocery needs. Mather said she would provide an estimate on replacing via boards or para-canvas.