Dayton creates events committee, plans Cinco de Mayo celebration

The city of Dayton is planning a Cinco de Mayo event with “full-blown parade and festivities,” as city manager Rochelle Roaden described it. The city is expanding on a smaller Carnaval de Cinco de Mayo event that occurred last year.

It will be the first city-sponsored event run with the help of the Community Events Committee, which city councilors approved the creation of in November.

Roaden said she found historic mentions of such a committee in Dayton, but no mention of a formal resolution establishing the committee.

“Due to Covid and a lack of volunteers, the city has taken a more active role regarding events in Dayton over the last five years,” Roaden said in a staff report of the council’s October meeting. “Large community events like Old Timers Weekend and Cinco de Mayo should be planned and executed through a Community Events Committee so that residents can be involved in its planning, direction, and success.”

Councilors discussed how the committee would differ from or work with the Dayton Community Development Association (DCDA), which hosts the Dayton Friday Nights summer event series. The council tabled the discussion until November, at which time Roaden reported the DCDA supported creation of the committee, and there was already a memorandum of understanding between the city and DCDA outlining roles with Dayton Friday nights.

Former Mayoy Beth Wytoski will act as liaison, with positions on both the events committee and the DCDA board. The council also named Rachel Williams and Kimberly Lattig to the events committee at its February meeting. The committee will have up to five voting members with three-year terms, along with a non-voting council liaison.

Other city sponsored events include Breakfast with Santa, the Holiday Bazaar, City Wide Clean-Up week, National Night Out and the holiday Christmas Tree lighting.