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LWVOC Fall Festival Salutes Voters with Fun in the Park

Ann Patton | Published on 10/28/2021

 

LWVOC fall festival salutes voters with fun in the park

 

 

There was plenty of fun in the park on Sunday afternoon, October 24, when League families gathered for their fall festival, with games, costumes, picnics, music, giveaways, food trucks, and even a short parade beside LWVOC’s very own Voter Tree in Cypress Grove Park.

 

But it all had a serious purpose:  to salute voters and celebrate our precious right to vote. The message was clear: “Your Voice + Your Vote = Your Power!”

 

“We’re here today to support the right to vote,” said LWVOC co-chairman Sue Gilman, “especially in these times where some are trying to suppress the right to vote and access to the ballot. We need your help to continue to fight for fair and transparent elections so that ‘Your Voice, Your Vote, and Your Power’ is heard locally as well as on the state and national levels.”

 

The crowd of about 150 people included neighbors, League families, and children, many in Halloween costumes. Special guests included new LWVOC members, past presidents, and costumed historical figures: Susan B. Anthony (Betsy Fulmer), Sojourner Truth (Mary Graham-Lawrence), and Uncle Sam (James Erwin.)

 

The program kicked off with the LWVOC’s spirited Warriors for Democracy Marchers, parading to the strains of “When the Saints Go Marching in.” And it closed to “America the Beautiful,” sung by the Girl Scouts Citrus Chorus.

 

Speakers included Orange County’s District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe and Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles; and LWVOC’s Sue Gilman, Joan Erwin, Kathy Sheerin, and Saudi Ellis.

 

Erwin and Sheerin were event chairs. Event partners included three LWVOC committees: History, Membership, and Voter Services; and Uribe, Cowles, and Orange County Parks and Recreation. The event paid special tribute to the Voter Services Committee.

 

The LWVOC planted The Voter Tree in Cypress Grove Park in 2019 to commemorate the group’s 80th birthday and the centennial of women’s right to vote. This year’s planning committee recommends that the LWVOC return to The Voter Tree every year to celebrate voting and to rededicate ourselves to empowering voters and defending democracy.

View the photo albums:
The Voter Tree 2021 Celebration Volmer

The Voter Tree Celebration 2021 Foreman