[This Week from City Hall: Duffest 2025]
[00:00:03]
UM, TO THIS WEEK FROM CITY HALL, I'M ALDERMAN BARBARA BEST SERVING WARD FIVE WITH THE CITY OF NEW VERN.
AND TODAY I HAVE WITH ME A VERY SPECIAL GUEST, MS. CAROL WILLIAMS. AND SHE IS GOING TO GIVE US SOME INFORMATION AND HIGHLIGHT US ON A WELL-KNOWN CITY EVENT, DUFF FEST, WHICH IS PUT ON ANNUALLY.
SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MS. CAROL WILLIAMS AND LET US GIVE US INFORMATION AND WE CAN GO FROM THERE.
I THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ALDERMAN BASS.
UM, AS YOU FOR STATED, MY NAME IS CAROL WILLIAMS AND I'M THE COORDINATOR OF THIS'S DEATH FEST.
HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE EVERY ONE OF YOU OUT THERE INT LAND TO KNOW THAT DEATH FEST HAS BEEN ALIVE FOR 25 YEARS.
THIS IS OUR 25TH YEAR EXISTENCE.
IT IS A, A EVENT THAT REALLY GRABS YOU BECAUSE THERE'S ALL TYPES OF ENTERTAINMENT.
THERE'S PONY RIDES, THERE'S FACE PAINTING, THERE'S A DJ, THERE ARE BOUNCY HOUSES, TRAFFIC TRAINS, THE FIRE DOG, THE FIGHT TRUCK, THE UM, THE, THE CANINE DOGS, UM, OF THE IDENTITY AS VENDORS.
ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF VENDORS THAT'LL BE THERE.
AND THE GRAND FINALE, OR THE VERY SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT, THE VERY SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT AND GO GETTER.
WE ARE HAVING A HURRICANE BALLOON.
AND LET ME TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS HURRICANE BALLOON.
IT'S A GREAT BIG BUBBLE AND IT'S INFLATED WITH AIR.
AND THERE'S MONEY THAT'S GONNA BE PUT IN THERE AND THE MONEY WILL BE BLOWN AROUND.
EVERYBODY THAT COMES TO DO FEST WILL GET A TICKET.
THERE'S NO CHARGE FOR THE TICKET.
UH, MAYBE A HOUR BEFORE DO FEST ENDS AT TWO O'CLOCK WE ARE GONNA CALL OUT A NUMBER.
THE DJ'S GONNA CALL OUT A NUMBER AND WHOEVER IS HOLDING THAT WINNING TICKET, THEY GET TO WALK INTO THAT BUBBLE AND GRAB ALL THE MONEY THEY CAN GRAB THAT'S FLYING AROUND 15 SECONDS.
YOU HAVE TO GRAB ALL THE MONEY YOU CAME.
I'LL MAKE SURE I GET THERE AND GET YOUR TICKET.
IT'S GONNA BE SUCH A GRAND TIME.
JUST SO THIS IS A FIRST FOR THE BALLOON? YES.
I JUST THOUGHT THAT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE A, A GO GETTER, A GRAB, A CROWD GRABBER.
AND UH, YOU KNOW, YOU TRY TO FIND COMEDIANS AND YADA YADA YADA.
I SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE GONNA GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, THISI, WE'RE GONNA TURN THAT WAY.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY, VERY, VERY GOOD.
WE'VE HAD, UH, AND OF COURSE I, WE CAN'T FORGET OUR PAST FEST, UM, COORDINATORS AND, AND CAPTAINS BECAUSE, EXCUSE ME, TRULY HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THEM IN THE WORK THAT THEY HAD DONE IN THE PAST.
WE SHOULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN TO THE STEP THAT WE ARE AT NOW.
SO WE WANT TO THANK THEM AS WELL.
DO YOU KNOW SOME OF THE, THE ORIGINAL, UH, KEY HOLDERS TO THE DUST VEST OR CAN YOU NAME OUT SOME THAT SAYS I DO, BUT I WOULDN'T WANNA CALL SOMEBODY'S NAME.
THAT WAS THERE AND SOMEBODY ELSE THAT WASN'T RIGHT.
SO I WOULDN'T, WELL, MAYBE LET ME INTERJECT THEN, 'CAUSE I KNOW SHE HAS BEEN A PIONEER OF THIS CITY AND SHE'S ALWAYS ENGAGED IN, IN HER COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, WAS MS. UH, ETHEL, REVEREND SAMPSON, A PART OF DEATH NEST THAT YOU KNOW OF? SHE WAS.
SHE WAS, I FIGURED SHE WAS, 'CAUSE SHE'S, SHE REALLY PLAYS A GOOD ROLE IN HER, BUT THERE WAS A NONE OF THEM.
AND THAT'S WHY THEY DIDN'T WANT TO CALL ANY NAMES BECAUSE EVERYBODY PARTOOK.
AND I JUST SAID THANK YOU TO EVERYONE.
FORGET NAMES AND EVERYBODY'S GOT FILL.
SO DO, CAN YOU GIVE ME THE DATE? THE DATE WILL BE SATURDAY.
THAT IS THE DAY BEFORE MOTHER'S DAY.
AND HOW ABOUT THIS? WE HAVE SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR ALL THE MOTHERS AS WELL.
AND THE TIME IS, THE TIME WILL BE FROM 9:00 AM TO 2:00 PM OKAY.
AT THE STANLEY WHITE RECREATION CENTER IN SEE THE OLD STANLEY, THE OLD, UH, HENDERSON PARK? NO, IT'S GONNA BE AT THE HENDERSON PARK.
THAT'S GONNA BE AT HENDERSON PARK.
OH, WHERE THE OLD STANDING WHITE REC CENTER USED TO BE USED TO BE.
AND THERE'S ADEQUATE ROOM FOR EVERYONE.
WE'VE REALLY NEVER HAD A PROBLEM
[00:05:01]
WITH PARKING.HOWEVER, THIS YEAR IT MAY BE DIFFERENT.
I THINK THERE MAY BE, UH, UH, A PARKING AVAILABLE BECAUSE RIGHT DOWN THE STREET IS THE NEW STANLEY WHITE REC CENTER AND IT'S NOT TOO FAR.
I'VE GOTTEN PERMISSION TO PARK ON THE GREENS AND OKAY.
AND ACROSS FROM THE, THE APARTMENTS.
I'VE GOT PERMISSION FOR THAT ALREADY.
UM, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT, UH, AND GIVE ME THAT DATE AGAIN.
'CAUSE I, I'M GETTING THAT DAY AGAIN THE DAY BEFORE MOTHER'S DAY.
AND WE'LL LOOK INTO, HAVE A GREAT TIME AND, UM, INVITATIONS WILL BE SENT TO ALL THE OLDER PERSONS.
UM, INVITING THEM TO COME AS WELL AS THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
WE ALWAYS TRY TO INVITE EVERYBODY.
SO WILL THERE BE ANY ADVERTISEMENT FOR PUT OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA? MM-HMM
CAN YOU GIVE US THOSE SOCIAL MEDIA SITES PLEASE? THAT THERE IS, THERE IS.
AND I HAVE FLYERS THAT GO HAVE BEEN GIVEN OUT TO PEOPLE.
'CAUSE THEY RUN IN AREAS THAT I DON'T RUN IN.
BUT NEVERTHELESS, AND, UH, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE GREAT.
WELL, MS. WILLIAMS, I'VE BEEN KNOWING YOU A LONG TIME.
YOU ARE, YOU ARE A PEOPLE'S PERSON AND YOU ALWAYS TRY TO INVOLVE PEOPLE WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY, OTHER, OTHER WARDS OF THE CITY WHENEVER SOME TYPE OF PROGRAM OR CITYWIDE EVENT IS GOING ON.
AND THIS IS ONE THING ABOUT THE FEST.
SO EVERYONE IS WELCOME, EVERYONE.
UM, AND I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE A LARGE TURNOUT.
SO, AND I'M SO HAPPY THAT YES.
UM, NOW IS DUFF, I JUST WANNA ASK, THIS IS DUFF FEST, UM, CONNECTED WITH, UM, THE, UM, JUNETEENTH, NO, NOT JUNE.
WELL, ARE YOU A PART OF JUNETEENTH? WE DID, WE DID PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM ONE YEAR.
UM, JUST TO SEE, YOU KNOW, HOW IT WOULD GO AND, AND THE MEMBERS DECIDED, WELL, YOU KNOW, LET'S GO BACK TO US.
ARE YOU PART OF, IS DUFF FEST A PART OF UH, UM, I CAN'T EVEN THINK OF IT RIGHT NOW.
THE GREATER DUFF AFFILIATED RESIDENCE COUNCIL IS THAT AFFILIATED WITH DEATH FEST WAS BIRTHED OUT OF THE GREATER JEFFERS FIELD RESIDENCE COUNCIL.
UM, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US OR YOU THINK YOU'VE ABOUT COVERED IT ALL? OR MAYBE I, I MAY HAVE LEFT OUT WITH THE, UH, BASKETBALL SHOOTOUT.
UH, THE SHAKERS AND THE ROCKERS.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL
THAT WAS JUST SO MANY THINGS I REMEMBER.
ARE YOU GONNA HAVE KARAOKE? 'CAUSE I KNOW.
FACE PAINTING, WE GONNA HAVE IT ALL.
AND THE VENDORS, WE NEVER DID THIS BEFORE, BUT WE ARE TRYING SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
WE ARE GONNA PREPAY OUR, SOME OF THE VENDORS AND IF CHILDREN ARE THERE THAT WE SPOT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE SPOTTERS THAT, UH, DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THEY HAVE ANY MONEY TO PAY FOR THEIR FOOD.
WE'RE GONNA PREPAY THEM AND GIVE OUR, GIVE TICKETS OUT TO CERTAIN PEOPLE AND THEY'RE GONNA GIVE THEM TO THE KIDS.
YOU'D NEVER WANT TO LEAVE KIDS OUT THERE.
AND YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT, IT'S ABOUT THE KIDS.
THEY'RE ABOUT THE, OUR FUTURE.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE GONNA DO.
AND, UM, OH, THAT'S FANTASTIC.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS SOME THAT COME OUT AND BE A PART OF, YOU KNOW, THE ACTIVITIES, BUT REALLY DON'T HAVE THE, THE MONETARY MEANS TO THAT'S TRUE.
YOU KNOW, TO PURCHASE, UM, FOOD ITEMS OR DRINKS.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, IF YOU WANT TO, I'M GONNA WRAP IT UP.
IF, UM, YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US, UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO COME BACK AGAIN,
IT'S GONNA BE SATURDAY, MAY THE 10TH, THE DAY BEFORE.
IT'S GONNA BE FROM 9:00 AM TO 2:00 PM AT THE HENDERSON PARK.
THAT'S WHERE THE OLD STANLEY WHITE, THE OLD STANLEY WHITE REC CENTER USED TO BE.
AND AGAIN, IT WILL BE, UH, NOW FLYERS GOING OUT.
AND ANNOUNCEMENTS WILL BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO I, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
UM, I CAN'T WAIT AND I'M DEFINITELY GONNA GET UP THERE AND DO SOME OF THE KARAOKE 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN PRACTICING.
[00:10:01]
WE GONNA HOLD YOU BACKBUT, UM, AGAIN, UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR COMING AND SHARING THE INFORMATION WITH US.
AND, UM, I JUST WANT TO, UH, THANK MS. COLLEEN.
SHE IS OUR, UH, MEDIA SOURCE HERE FOR THE CITY OF NEW BERN.
UM, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING, UM, OUR CITIZENS PRESENT AT DUFF FEST.
DON'T FORGET THE DATE AND HOPEFULLY WE WILL ALL OF US GET TOGETHER AND JOIN IN AND HAVE A FANTASTIC TIME.
AGAIN, I'M ALDERMAN BARBARA, BEST SERVING THE CITY OF NEWBURGH WARD FIVE.
THANK YOU AND HAVE A GOOD EVENING.