A&P Commission approves funds for Juneteenth festival, softball tournament

The Magnolia A&P Commission met Monday afternoon to hear two fund proposals. Kizmet Davis of UCO spoke on behalf of the Juneteenth festival and David Smith represented the Magnolia B&G Club.

The Juneteenth festival was on the agenda last month, but was tabled after Davis was unable to attend to answer some of the questions prosed by the committee. She came back this time with a clearer vision for the festival as well as a reduced proposal request. Originally, UCO was requesting $5,000 to put on the festival but that request was lowered to $3,000 after changes to the entertainment schedule were made as well as locations were finalized for the event.

This year, the festival will have a Gospel Explosion on Friday night at the Reynold’s Center on SAU’s campus. The normal events will go on as planned Saturday, May 15, at South Side Park in Magnolia. UCO plans to have prizes for bingo and much more at this year’s festival.

The funding request was approved for the full amount of $3,000.

Smith from the Boys and Girls Club talked about the upcoming softball tournament for Magnolia. By hosting this pre-state tournament, Magnolia is garaunteed to host the state tournament next year which will play host to over 50 teams for over five days. This pre-state tournament is expected to have 6-10 teams over two days. Since it is not required for teams to play to qualify for state, it is expected to have lower turnout.

The Boys and Girls Club stated they will use the funds for a variety of reasons, but the total needed may decrease depending on certain factors including the number of participating teams and how many games would be played throughout the tournament. Less games means less need for umpires and field crew which in turn creates less expenditures in that area. B&G Club also has a $1,500 tournament fee that is mandated to put on the tournament.

The funding request was approved for the full amount of $6,500 and the tournament is set to run from June 21 - June 23, 2019.

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