Limestone’s First “New Home Day”
Limestone’s First “New Home Day”
Re-Imagined Event to Benefit Volunteer Fire Department
Photos / Limestone Volunteer Fire Department
According to FEMA’s National Fire Department Registry, a national database of over 27,000 fire departments, almost 91% of all registered fire departments in New York state are volunteer. That’s right, in most communities, volunteer firefighters are the first line of defense in many different emergencies; including fires, natural disasters, vehicle accidents, and more. Volunteers invest a significant amount of time in serving their communities, and the costs to train and equip them can create challenges for small departments. Show your appreciation and support by coming out to Limestone’s New Home Day event on Saturday, May 11th, which benefits the Limestone Volunteer Fire Department!
Limestone Volunteer Fire Department member, Meronica Deitz, and her boyfriend, Collin Rounsville, fourth assistant department chief, are organizing this brand new event, which is a re-imagining of Limestone’s Old Home Days. While the Covid-19 pandemic put an end to the Old Home Days tradition, Deitz is looking forward to this new event, which is taking place at the Limestone Community Center at 616 Main Street.
The event includes a rubber duck race down the creek across from the fire department, which is next door to the community center. Ducks are $5 each (just 120 ducks per race); races will be held at noon, 1:00pm and 2:00pm, and the winner splits the prize money with the fire department in this 50/50 style raffle.
Last year, Deitz organized a craft show to benefit the fire department, and the event was so popular that she decided to incorporate it into New Home Day. “Last year, there were around 20 vendors, and now I’m close to 40 vendors with over 55 booths,” she said. The craft show begins at 11:00am and includes booths located inside the Community Center and outdoors. Booth items include sublimated crafts, such as tumblers, handmade candles, local honey, freeze dried candy, baked goods, resale items, nail decals, and more. Booth space is still available but limited. To sign up, contact Deitz at onegirlscustomcreation@gmail.com.
Make sure to bring your appetite for the chicken barbecue, which will be served starting at noon. The event also includes a kids’ carnival, so bring the family! Deitz said she’s been in contact with New York State Department of Corrections to be on-site to create child identification kits to provide parents in the case of missing children.
“There is also a silent auction,” said Deitz. “There will be raffle baskets – each booth is donating one. And we also have donations from surrounding businesses, like Zippo.” Deitz is also working on organizing a cornhole tournament as part of New Home Day. Forms to register a team are available at the Limestone Firemen’s Club, and registration is $20 per team. The single-elimination tournament will begin at 12:30pm, with a prize awarded to the top team.
All the proceeds from the New Home Day events, including the cornhole tournament, the duck races, the chicken barbecue, and the craft vendor booth fees, support the Limestone Volunteer Fire Department. Rounsville explained, “The department raises money to maintain our equipment, which is all of the equipment on the trucks, all the gear, fuel for our small engines, property maintenance for the station itself, and maintenance for the Community Center, which the fire department owns.” He added that fundraisers like New Home Day help pay for volunteer training and equipment, which are vital to the future of the department.
To get involved, contact Deitz at onegirlscustomcreation@gmail.com or message her on Facebook. For news and updates, check out the Facebook event: Limestone’s New Home Day: https://fb.me/e/xC3rRh228.