Society meets to decide how to best market its festival

Is it time to revitalize and rename the Sam Slick Days Festival?

Richard Cole, president of the Sam Slick Society, said a fair number of people have expressed their views and now it’s up to the board of directors, who dedicate countless volunteered hours to making this festival possible each year, to decide if the Sam Slick Festival will change its name.

And if so, the society will decide what the festival will be called. It meets on April 15 to decide what to call the Sam Slick Days.

The festival has always been about bringing the community together and celebrating a sense of community, Cole said. “So no matter what the name is, that’s what should be kept at heart. This week a decision is made one way or another.”

The controversy surrounding Sam Slick started last summer when an image created by artist C.W. Jefferys and based on the fictional Yankee clockmaker Sam Slick created by Windsor native Thomas Chandler Haliburton, was circulated on roughly 8,000 festival brochure covers for Sam Slick Days 2008.

The sketch in question showed Sam Slick looking disheveled and drawing away from a man of obvious African descent, who was kneeling at his feet with arms clutched at Slick’s waist.

There have been views expressed from both sides on what should be done to rectify this if anything, Cole noted. “But, when it comes down to it, the festival should be for everybody and, I think everyone does need to reflect on why we have the festival.”

Windsor will have a festival, it’s going to happen, but with the state of the economy volunteers are harder to come by. Cole added it’s more important to start looking at different ways to market this and attract more tourists to come to the festival, Cole said. “We are doing the same things every year, and there’s not as much going on.” “I think it (the festival) needs to be refreshed to bring in some new things and to try some new events,” Cole added. “Then again, some argue, if it’s not broke don’t fix it.”