Fair Association encourages community to learn more, have fun, win prizes
(Seguin) — The Guadalupe County Fair will be roping in all of Seguin’s non-profits under one roof tonight. The Guadalupe County Fair Association will host its first-ever Non-Profit Expo tonight at the Seguin Coliseum.
The idea to gather as many 501c non-profits together was brought to the table by Gail Damerau, the chair for tonight’s event. After seeing something similar in the Port Lavaca area, Damerau knew she wanted to provide this one-of-a-kind service to the local community. With so many new families and individuals looking for services or ways to get involved, Damerau said she began to recruit the 200-plus non-profits that operate in the area.
She says although it took some time to gain momentum, tonight’s results are more than she could have ever asked for when initially planning.
“At the beginning I was like okay, okay and then all of a sudden, things just blew up and we are currently at 53 (booths) somewhere in that area so it’s turned out amazingly. I had hoped we would have great participation but in the same sense now, I’m in the mode of I need the community to come out and support all these awesome non-profits from all different levels, all different types. It’s been very interesting too to see those that have different organizations and what they are supporting and what type of stuff they are doing. It’s very diversified, very very diversified,” said Damerau.
However, tonight’s event is not just about gathering information. Each booth is designed to offer interactive activities and other engaging experiences, enhancing the overall event experience for attendees.
“Some of them are going to have actual activity in their booth like they are doing something with the kids or whatever. We’ve got some mock mutton bustin rocking horse activities out in the front by the gazebo. We’ve got a stick horse barrel race that kids can do. There’s a big equipment rodeo by the city of Seguin and then, the Sand Hills Fire Department will also have their fire trucks there so the kids can go over and see all the big equipment stuff over at the parking lot closer in the midway toward the rodeo area and Dilly Deli will be there with their food truck and then, you can stroll around in the Coliseum area from booth to booth checking them all out — checking what their purpose is and what they do and there’s a lot of great resources and we will have a limited supply of drinks and things that we will be selling. I think it’s going to be a fun, filled evening for the community to come out and get together and have a little socialization and everybody’s got a purpose and we want to connect, commit, and contribute and change Guadalupe County,” said Damerau.
Some great prizes are also on tap for tonight’s event. Damerau says anyone who visits the booths can sign up for a chance to win one of those prizes.
“We will have some limited numbers of programs which will list all of the non-profits and they are going to be notated on there also on who is going to have prize drawings so we have quite a few including the fair. We’ve got lots of giveaways and then about 7:45 p.m., we will start doing those drawings up on the stage so if you put your name in the hat at any one of those booths, you can possibly win some prizes that night,” said Damerau.
Damerau says folks will also get to visit with several non-profits operate in surrounding communities with services extending into the Seguin area. Several for-profit booths are also supporting the fair association by paying for their spot in tonight’s event.
There is no cost to enter. The Non-Profit Expo will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Coliseum. The Coliseum is located at 950 S. Austin St.