Business Association lays plans for a year of events, starting with Chocolate Stroll from 11 to 5 on Saturday

By Lauren McCally

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

               The Midway Business Association had plenty to talk about at its monthly meeting Wednesday, with Saturday’s Chocolate Stroll kicking off a long list of events planned this year.

               Members also discussed the possibility of using the MBA’s growing bank account to help others, such as Midway Renaissance and Northside Elementary, with advertising for events. They also discussed the fall festival, the possibility of an RJ Corman Railroad dinner train stopping in Midway, and potential solutions for downtown parking.

               Besides the Chocolate Stroll, which will held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the MBA also discussed a St. Patrick’s Day event, movies in the courtyard and many other events scheduled throughout the year.

               The St. Patrick’s Day event is set for Saturday, March 14, from 2 to 6 p.m. with vendors and a band, but no parade as in recent years, President Cortney Neikirk said. It will feature a blessing of the keg and a leprechaun.

                At their last meeting MBA members discussed a possible dinner train stop. One member said Corman executive Noel Rush, who handles a lot of the railroad’s community bookings, told her that he would think about what the MBA was trying to do.

               Elisha Holt, coordinator of the fall festival and other events, said local merchants who want to participate in the festival Sept. 19-20 “do not fill out the application online because in order to get the discount they need to do a paper one, since there are no discounted applications on the digital one.” Those need to be filled out by June 30.

               Although applications typically go out around Feb. 10, Holt said they were sent out before the first of January, and 29 vendors had already accepted, all of which are return vendors. Fall festival meetings will start being held in March. Holt mentioned that Country Boy Brewing would sponsor the festival stage again.

               Neikirk said the fall festival account has grown to $42,000, following profits of $38,500 last year, and the association has almost $13,000 in other accounts.

               She said the MBA will use some of that money to help Renaissance advertise its three Midsummer Nights in Midway, which have been scheduled cooperatively. “Their events help us, so we’re going to advertise for them,” she said.

               Renaissance members staff City Hall during weekend events to make public restrooms available, and the group does an annual Midway Heritage Day in the fall that the MBA makes part of its events schedule.

               Neikirk said the MBA could cooperate with other groups that hold events, such as Northside Elementary School. “It gets us all connected with each other,” she said.

               Holt said events have also been scheduled in cooperation with Versailles businesses. “We are trying to play very nicely with Versailles,” she said, noting that every summer weekend will have some sort of event in Woodford County.

               The final topic at the meeting was shortage of parking, especially for employees of restaurants and shops. Neikirk said she has talked to the restaurants and is trying to help them find a place for their employees to park somewhere other than the Main Street area.

                “You see people drive through, and there’s nowhere to park, and you watch them drive right out of town,” Neikirk said. “And that’s the thing, nobody’s going to park at Wallace Station to walk downtown.”

               Neikirk proposed that restaurant owners come together to see if a local church would be willing to rent its parking lot every day but Sunday for use of the employees, but said she is unsure if that will happen.