Large segment of the community now involved
CROSBY – Dozens of members of the Crosby200 planning committee finished up their monthly meeting last Tuesday night, with a lot accomplished to coordinate a huge birthday celebration planned for Saturday, September 23rd.
Bicentennial Chairperson Donna Davenport reported that about 25 committee chairs were at the meeting, and reported a great deal of progress toward the huge all-day event.
There is so much enthusiasm for the event, and so many people willing to help, that it may become too big to manage, The Celebration will start at 10am Saturday morning with a parade , and end that evening with entertainment, after a full day of flyovers, 65 vendor booths, music and food, history and quilts, music and dance, car shows and emergency equipment, and involvement of the library and schools, and so much more.
To get a better idea of the extensive plans for the event, here are the highlights from Tuesday’s planning meeting:
CROSBY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION (CBC) MEETING
A. Updates from Chairpersons
1. Gene Hicks, CHAIRMAN – Dance Committee / Band. Three bands will be playing, Cody Kouba (Hometown entertainer, the 22s (local CHS graduates), Leroy Thomas (Zydeco) paid for by Bob & Jeans
2. Rachel Hicks , CHAIRMAN – Buttons for the Dance Committee (Buttons are a throwback to the days of the Crosby Sports Association Street Dance
3. Alicia Spear and Belinda Parker, Co-CHAIRMAN – Vendor Booths / Food Trucks Committee: vendors can sign up online – crosby200.com approximately 65 booths for vendors.
4. Eddie Foster CHAIRMAN – Parade starting at 10 a.m. Celebration will start around noon after parade. Parade will start and end at the Middle School and have the regular parade route FM 2100 – First Street – Wahl Street – FM200. Members of Faith Family will be helping with the parade. Canonmade by Ricky Sparks will be fired to begin the parade and at the end of the celebration. **Descendants of our founder, Humphrey Jackson, will be participating in our parade.
5. Kim Harris, CHAIRMAN – Ribbon Cutting & Parade permits with TXDOT and insurance coverage. Also, obtain a Fire Marshall Permit
6. Dolores Casey, CHAIRMAN – Firetrucks, Life Flight, Big Trucks Committee, Harris County Sheriff with McGruff, Speciality vehicle high water rescue, SWAT vehicle, DPS Patrol Car and specialty vehicles, Texas Parks and Wildlife / Game warden will have a boat, SPAAMFA will have an antique fire trucks and equipment, Possibly Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center will bring donor coach, EMS and Crosby Volunteer Fire Department, Constables.
7. Velma Ellison, CHAIRMAN – Photo Booth
8. Karen Foster, CHAIRMAN – Car Show Committee Load in at 7 a.m. to avoid the traffic for the parade. They will also do a 50/50 drawing to raise funds.
9. Brett Birkinbind Liaison for Crosby I.S.D. Committee Younger grades, coloring contest, Color Me Crosby, Distributed history of Crosby to history teachers, Vocabulary list or Bicentennial / historical Crosby terms Raymond Blanchard is writing a play of Crosby History to be performed in the summer by his Alumni Students. Invited every campus to be in the parade, including marching band Drill Team parents will be in charge of parking cars JROTC – marching in parade and helping with clean up Cougar Bistro and Catering will make the biggest birthday cake for the public. They will be decorating at the event for all to see their culinary skills. Cake slices will be free to the public.
10. Jayne Ann Clifton, CHAIRMAN – Bicentennial Quilt Committee, distributed raffle tickets for the first quilt “Stars over Crosby” quilted by Kathy Bryant and pieced together by the Crosby Stitchen Sister of the Crosby Community Center. Tickets will be sold until the day of the event.
11. Jayne Ann Clifton, CHAIRMAN – AUCTION – looking for donations for the live auction. We have four quilts that have been donated so far.
12. Jeremy Phillips, CHAIRMAN – Flyover Committee – A Blackhawk will do a flyover during the parade and they will also have a static display of a Blackhawk.
13. Molly McGinty, CHAIRMAN – Crosby Library Committee – On April 24 at 6 p.m. at Crosby Edith Fae Cook Cole Branch Library the Crosby Friends of the Library will hold their annual meeting and the lecture will be “ The Swedish Streets of Crosby”. Learn more about the Swedes who settled Crosby and their lives as Swedish- Americans in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The library is planning programs about Crosby History throughout the summer and up until the event. One program will be receiving passports.
14. Andria Ginn, CHAIRMAN – Community Service Committee (post clean-up of CBC)
15. Belinda Armstrong, CHAIRMAN – Bicentennial Cookbook Committee. The group decided to have 200 recipes and purchase 300 books. We have about 150 recipes at the present time. Deadline in March 31. Cookbooks will sell for $20 each.
16. Alicia Spear – Advertising and Promotions for CBC and contacting businesses, website – We now have a website for our Big Event – crosby200.com Sponsors can sign up online and well as vendors.
17. Bryan Parker, CHAIRMAN – CBC Entertainment Committee from 12 noon to 4:30
18. Viviana Killion, CHAIRMAN – Social Media Committee
19. Michelle Thompson, CHAIRMAN – Harris County Precinct 3Õs Community Outreach Director – Precinct 3 will be sending a Big Rescue Truck for static display. Working on getting caboose in the park painted and a sign on the fence with a description of why the caboose is important and the special meaning for Crosby. Commissioner Tom Ramsey will be in the parade in his Model T vehicle (if he can get it running).
20. Rhonda Parker Nelson, CHAIRMAN – Historical Liaison for:
— Alamo personnel, exhibit, float, costumed orators and canon;
— San Jacinto Battleground exhibit and battle re-enactors, wooden muskets and teach the kids to march and how to make bullets, using crayons because they melt easily and the kids can take their bullet home;
— San Felipe de Austin (they are celebrating 200 years of existence) and will bring an exhibit. They are researching Crosby History to make exhibit specific to Crosby, might bring an old printing press and sign land grants, and they will be in costume;
— Texas Rangers (celebrating 200 years of existence and raising money for a state museum for fallen Rangers and DPS troopers, will have an exhibit;
— Galveston Railroad Museum, possibly will have an exhibit.
21. Susan Armstrong, CHAIRMAN – Large BICENTENNIAL Birthday Cake, the Crosby Bistro and Catering will bake the cakes and then will decorate the cake on site as an exhibit. Then after a presentation of the cake, it will be cut and slices given to spectators.
22. Crosby High School Drill Team Parents – Crosby Parking for event: Charging $5 a carload for a fundraisers for the girls
23. Karen Claunch and Debbie Holmelin CO-CHAIRS – Church committee / Games: they have created a letter they will be sending to all area churches asking for help in having booths with games for the children, participation in the parade.
24. Christy Graves, CHAIRMAN, Art Display – Making plans for an art contest through the schools, with the winner getting the privilege of having their art as the main display in the new building that is coming soon.
25. Other New Business A. Toller Spear, owner of SBG – Spear Building Group made a presentation of a product he sells at Buccees, a granite Texas shaped granite charcuterie board. But he is making a special edition just for the CBC with Crosby on top of the granite. The granite boards will sell for $200 each with $100 from each board sold given to the CBC. They must have 50 commitments before they begin production. Next monthly meetings:
— April 25, 2023
— May 23, 2023
— June 27, 2023
— July 25, 2023
— August 22, 2023