Lake Pacawa Park, where Village of Plover leaders have already planned updates, turns into a flurry of activity each summer for Celebrate Plover. (City-Times photo)

By Joel Murillo

The third annual Celebrate Plover event will be coming to Lake Pacawa Park in Plover on Sat., July 26.

The Celebrate Plover event, which runs from 9 AM- midnight, was created to bring together metro area residents and visitors for a day to celebrate the Plover community. Trina Sankey, the head of marketing for Celebrate Plover, said that the event strives to emulate what Plover is like.

“Plover’s all about community, and Celebrate Plover is something that gives that sense of community,” Sankey said. “We just hope that the residents will come out and support Plover, support the community, and just have a great time at the event.”

Celebrate Plover showcases various local companies in its business expo area, and various other kiosks will be staged throughout the park, including food and beverage stands, along with a beer tent and music.

The event provides entertainment for both children and adults. Former Plover Area Business Association (PABA) Executive Director DeeAnn Donahue said the event is designed to be family-friendly.

“For families with younger children, we have the parade, and then the children’s activities are all free, so that makes it very affordable for a family,” she said.

Celebrate Plover will host two bands for those who are interested in music. Relentless, a Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids based band, will perform rock music throughout the afternoon. Later, the country band Grand Union will perform at night. Donahue said that the musical aspect contributes to the goal of togetherness at Celebrate Plover.

“Groups of people just like to get together with their friends, sit back, relax, and listen to the music,” Donahue said.

Before Celebrate Plover was established, the Plover community had gone several years without a big community event, like the Golden Sands Festival. Sankey said that many adults used to spend lots of time at Lake Pacawa and added that Celebrate Plover would help families tell their children about their experiences there.

“Lake Pacawa used to be the place where everyone hung out,” she said. “I think people are excited to get back to the park and relive some of the memories that they had when they were kids.”