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Milton and Mane
Welcome to Milton and Mane, the City of Milton, Georgia's official podcast—a dynamic space where community connection meets insightful conversation. Whether you're a resident, local business owner, neighboring government official, or a curious listener from afar, this podcast is your gateway to understanding Milton on every level.
Each episode is designed to bring you closer to the heart of our city, offering behind-the-scenes stories that humanize the people who keep Milton running. You'll gain valuable insights into local government operations, discover new opportunities, and hear from the voices that shape our community. Expect to learn about our rich history, stay updated on future developments, and explore the vibrant arts, culture, and sustainability initiatives that make Milton unique.
Join us as we celebrate our community, encourage civic engagement, and share inspiring stories that resonate beyond our city limits. Subscribe today and be part of the conversation that's building a better Milton, one episode at a time.
Stock Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Milton and Mane
Event-Full Season Ahead: What to do, where to be, and when to go!
Milton’s fall and winter event calendar is packed and we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how it all comes together. In this episode, host Christy Weeks sits down with Emily Salerno, the force behind many of Milton’s signature community events. From Halloween fun to holiday cheer, and even a sneak peek at some brand-new happenings, Emily shares what makes these events more than just dates on a calendar. Whether you're a longtime attendee or planning your first outing, this conversation will leave you inspired to mark your calendar and make some Milton memories.
All of Milton's upcoming events can be found HERE.
Click HERE for information about the Volunteer of the Year Awards. Deadline to nominate someone is October 10, 2025.
With the community in mind, this podcast explores the stories, people, and initiatives that make our community unique. Each episode offers insights into local government, highlights Milton's history and future developments, and showcases the vibrant arts, culture, and sustainability efforts shaping our city. Join the conversation, celebrate our community, and discover how we're building a better Milton together.
Do you have an idea for an episode or would like to request a specific topic to be covered? Email Christy Weeks, christy.weeks@miltonga.gov
Learn more about the City of Milton at www.miltonga.gov.
Welcome to Milton and Maine, the official podcast for the city of Milton. We want to bring you closer to the heart of our community through stories that inform, inspire and connect. Each episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at the people, projects and priorities shaping Milton, covering everything from local government and future development to arts, culture, sustainability and public safety. Whether you're a resident, a local business owner or just curious about our city, this is your front row seat to what makes Milton special. Welcome back to Milton and Maine, where the horses are iconic and the events are anything but ordinary.
Speaker 1:I'm your host today, christy Weeks, and I'm the communications manager for the city of Milton, and today we're going to dive into one of our favorite things about living in Milton all the fun, festive and family-friendly events that keep our calendar packed and our community connected. So in this town, there's always something for everyone. We make sure of it, and no one knows that better than our guest today. She's the brains behind the banners, the queen of the community spirit and your go-to person when you want to know what's happening around town Our very own community outreach manager, emily Salerno. Welcome, emily. Hello, what an intro. I know I take pride in that one.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, that was like my favorite. Hopefully I follow that introduction well enough. Hopefully I live up to the hype.
Speaker 1:I have no doubt, because what you're going to do for us and this is a very strong hint is you're going to give us the inside scoop on what's in store this season, because we're getting ready to roll into your busiest time of the year, and I know this because I've witnessed it.
Speaker 2:Oh, you got it. I'll give you the scoop like an ice cream man. It's going to be great.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I mean that should be part of your title now it really should be ice cream man, given the scoop. Well, we're going to work on that one. Let's put that one on the back burner.
Speaker 2:We'll workshop it.
Speaker 1:At any rate, everybody settle in. This is going to be a good one, because you're going to want to take some notes and you're going to want to know what's going on this fall, because there is a lot. Get your planners out. Okay. Well, start us off. What do we got? I know we have some new things coming and I want to get to those, but I want to give those proper highlights, so to speak, so we might as well start rolling in order from here on out. We've already had a handful of events this year, all of which were a stunning success, and everybody loves the 4th of July parade and all that kind of stuff, but the fall, it's starting to get serious.
Speaker 2:Oh, for sure we hit. I want to September 6th and we don't stop until December 22nd. It is wild. We have, I'm pretty sure the last time I counted we have 14 annual city events and nine of them 10 of them happened between September and December.
Speaker 1:Okay, I outside perspective. Whose fault is that?
Speaker 2:Oh, it's mine, A hundred percent A hundred percent yeah for sure. So the next big one that we have coming up is our touch a truck event, which is on Saturday, September 6th this is my favorite event that we do all year long. This was my baby when I started back with the city in 2023. I went to my boss, man tom macleveen, the director of parks and rec absolutely the owner, if you will, of the kids in the office, that's us the owner, the babysitter. The babysitter correct.
Speaker 2:The president of the babysitter's club, that's right. And I came to him and I said listen, I was like we have a phenomenal public safety team. We have a lot of cool things here in Milton. I want to do a touch a truck event and he goes a, what A?
Speaker 2:what? And I said you know like a touch a truck event where, like trucks and fire trucks and police cars and everything come out and they park and the kids can touch them and we get some themed inflatables. They're construction based and it's going to be great. So we partner with stone creek church on this one, because they are over on highway 9. We always do our best to expand our events across all of milton so that it's not just happening here in downtown crabapple, it's happening on highway 9, it's happening, hopefully, at deer field soon. Yeah, and their parking lot is huge and they're wonderful partners of ours and in our first year we drew out over 4,000 people in just the first year.
Speaker 1:That's a lot of fingerprints.
Speaker 2:Oh, it was a ton of fingerprints.
Speaker 1:It was crazy, it's the only thing that came to mind. You said touch a, and then you, you think about all the pd cars that are all nice and shiny and the fire trucks that are little shiny, and then all the little fingerprints, oh for sure I mean, you can literally leave your thumbprint on milton, so I don't see why you wouldn't want to come hey, tagline, see, it's a good one and last year we even had and I've requested them and we'll see if they can come we had the Wienermobile come out last year and I feel like that was one of my peaks as an employee and a planner.
Speaker 1:It's really funny because I remember that so specifically because I was still getting my bearings and and we'd all chatted a little bit and then I'm like, okay, who is this gal running around the office so excited about the Wienermobile? You would have thought that you had you had somebody big coming to town it was wild.
Speaker 2:You might as well have thought that, like justin bieber, justin timberlake were coming in town, but no, it was just the oscar weinermobile fair. Incredible, this year as well, we're adding. So normally the event runs 10 to 1. This year we're going to start at 9, and from 9 to 10 we're going to add a sensory friendly hour. Oh right, it's going to be great. It's going to start at nine and from nine to 10, we're going to add a sensory friendly hour. Oh right, it's going to be great. It's going to be a little bit quieter lower music, lower attendance, no horns. So it's going to be a really great kind of quiet environment.
Speaker 1:Cause you did that with the egg hunt this year Exactly.
Speaker 2:And it's a great way for us to include that community and we have so many of them here and we want to make sure that they are able to touch all of their favorite trucks and see everything just the same way that everybody else is, so we're really excited to add that little hour.
Speaker 1:Right on. So then it opens up at 10 full on all the things. Oh yeah, we've got music.
Speaker 2:We have inflatables. We have we'll have food trucks galore. As of right now, we have about 10 to 15 vehicles that will be out there. I even heard a rumor that Marshall from Paw Patrol also might be coming.
Speaker 1:No yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm like really good friends with him, so he said that he would come by and all of this is such shocking information Right. Of course I'm friends with the Paw Patrol.
Speaker 1:Obviously.
Speaker 2:Hello. So I think they're going to come out and we'll have face painting and balloon twisters, oh right on, and just an awesome way to bring it back in, especially after Labor Day weekend. You know, you settle into sports, you settle into school, right, and you kind of need those little sprinkles of fun throughout that time.
Speaker 1:For sure, and I think that's a great way to still get out and enjoy the weather, because the weather isn't awful, oh no, sometimes it can be a little a little warm.
Speaker 2:It gets a little toasty in the afternoon, but as soon as it starts to get toasty it's one o'clock and the event's over, Right.
Speaker 1:Right on. So we have, we have touch a truck and I'm not going to lie, I have not been to one yet. So I will plan on, being on hand is my goal, because I need to witness this. And did you guys have North Fulton SWAT last year? Oh, you bet. So they just were at the Teen Police Academy, oh, and they brought in the bat. Oh, fantastic, the vehicle.
Speaker 2:It was amazing, so cool.
Speaker 1:We can't climb inside of it, which fair enough. I mean they have some things in there. There are rules, boundaries, I get it. But the funniest thing is there was a couple of members of the SWAT team there, kind of giving the big tour. When you see us rolling down the road and we look like a possum because we've got dudes hanging on to the side, I was like that is really cool. That's never what I get to see.
Speaker 2:That's super accurate. I feel like they need a theme song.
Speaker 1:They do.
Speaker 2:I'll work on it, would you please? You got it.
Speaker 1:Totally, totally brand them. I'm sure that they're looking for some new branding these days. Exactly Happy to help. Anyway, I was super impressed with the Bat vehicle. That was very amazingly.
Speaker 2:It's super cool.
Speaker 1:And, very amazingly, it's super cool and they come every year in in my mind. I should have been a cop or an FBI agent or somewhere. I just missed my calling somewhere along that ship has sailed? Highly doubt it. It's still in port. I'm gonna hold off on commenting on that one because it goes down a really bad rabbit hole about my age and expectations and understandable, understandable. So what are we doing after that? Because we've got a new event coming, couple of new back-to-backers, new ones.
Speaker 2:So right after that we roll into our first Milton restaurant week. It's going to be fantastic. We have so many great restaurants here in Milton and I feel like a lot of people don't necessarily know about them, and what they have to offer.
Speaker 2:So during this week you're able to go into these restaurants, order off of their prefix menu. It's going to be at a set price. You're going to get two to three appetizers or entrees or desserts or whatever. Their package is going to be at a set price. It might be a little bit lower than what you would normally get it during the week and you can try as much as you want. We all have breakfast, lunch, dinner. We have some snacks, Snackies.
Speaker 1:It's going to be great. Well, here's what I want to clarify because this is going to be important. This is not a taste of Milton Correct, where actually being in Chicago and attending the Taste of Chicago, which was amazing, but that was a lot of vendors outside of their restaurants in a pop-up tent serving their select options this is a you can. During that week, you can go and visit these restaurants, all of which will be listed on our website with a link with their address and directions, and when we launch this, there will be a link to their specific menu, so you can get a little peek at what each restaurant is offering.
Speaker 2:Exactly. It's a great way to kind of taste and try, and we want you guys to walk into these establishments. So many of them are beautiful, very cool, very interesting and decorated well and are very unique.
Speaker 1:And some super solid food.
Speaker 2:Oh, some super, super solid food. So it's a nice way for you guys to get a little sampler platter over the week. And, you know, after Friday night football come and you know, grab a bite wherever you'd like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I dig that and here's the. The other thing that's going to be important is there will be an option for feedback. Since this is your inaugural year the first one and only restaurant week we want to be able to provide information exactly or get feedback so we can build better.
Speaker 2:Right. We want to know what you like. If there was a restaurant that you wish had been on the docket and they weren't, we'd love to see it. If the menu wasn't exactly what you were looking for and you really want this item to be added. Next year we're going to be able to provide that feedback to all of the restaurants that they know how they did over the week.
Speaker 1:Right on.
Speaker 2:It's going to be great. And then we have we roll into september 13th, which is one of our actually kind of two new events combined in one. So at milton city park and preserve we are going to host the last splash puppy bash. Say that 10 times, I know I could never do it. I would get tongue-tied at the city pool.
Speaker 1:Yep, so before we drain it for the season because our city pool closes I think that's important for everybody to know that you do drain the pool every year we do.
Speaker 2:We drain the pool every year. We clean it, we go through the whole nine yards, we winterize it, we do the goods, but before we drain it for the season, we are going to allow dogs to come in and swim. It's going to be a wonderful event. We're partnering with Countryside Pet Estates and we're going to be able to check some vaccinations and we want to make sure we're providing an incredibly fun experience but also safety on one side as well.
Speaker 1:Correct.
Speaker 2:So we're going to have some pre-registration happening on our website at miltongagov slash registration. You just look for that community events tab and it'll say last flash, puppy bash, making sure you have all of your good vaccinations. You know waivers, all the things, yeah, but it is limited. We won't be able to host all of the doggos in the pool. We want to make sure it's safe for everyone?
Speaker 1:Is this a free for all?
Speaker 2:It's not a free for all.
Speaker 1:Are we counting and keeping track, cause I can see we're going to come and keep track, but we're going to have.
Speaker 2:We're going to come and keep track, but we're going to have. We'll have some coffee out We'll have. I believe Wolfgang is going to come.
Speaker 2:Is this your? Is this your brainchild? Oh, of course this is my brainchild. I will say we, piggybacked off of a lot of other cities and municipalities do this as well, and we figured, why not, why not us Incredible, so you'll be able to bring your dog, we'll have some freebies and some goodies for both you and your dog, and it'll just be a fun morning With as much as people love their dogs, because every time in the past of my previous job we would plan a 5K.
Speaker 1:And I did it for five years straight, planned a 5K every year. Can we bring our dogs? Can we bring our dogs? Oh for sure. So we did not allow it, just simply because of the insurance issues and the fact that our course wasn't up and back. So then you've got this whole crisscrossing of dogs and things and kids and strollers and whatnot. So for that it wasn't cool. So to have an entire event Just for your dog, just for your puppy, and there's a ton of rules and guidelines.
Speaker 2:I won't bore you with them right now on this podcast, but we want to make sure we're having a safe environment and where can you find those rules? You can find them on our website, at miltongagov slash events. Yeah, and then look for the little cute last flash puppy bash.
Speaker 1:It's a dog in a pool yeah, oh, the logo is so cute.
Speaker 2:It's a dog in a pool with some goggles, so you can't miss it.
Speaker 1:It's what my dog does.
Speaker 2:Okay, but then get this. So at the same time that our last splash puppy bash is going on, we also have a plant swap that is going to be happening at the Milton city park and preserve as well in the parking lot area. I did not know that it's a new one. We're partnering with Georgia plant swap and Sales who is going to set this up, and there's kind of three components to this. On one side it's a true swap. Think, you know, when you were in elementary school and someone had the fruit gushers and you have carrots and you swap.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, fair All right.
Speaker 2:Quite literally a trade On the other side.
Speaker 1:Whoever got the carrots lost. Sorry, oh for sure.
Speaker 2:You know that they had an almond mom.
Speaker 1:It was never me.
Speaker 2:Never me Gosh, no Fruit gushers all day. Then the second component is selling so some pottery, ceramics, plant-like products. And then the third component to it is that donate component. So if you have a plant that hasn't been working in your yard, or you have too many of one I know at some point my uncle had a hundred Japanese maples in his backyard and he does not need that many Japanese maples, so you can come, you can donate your plant and kind of walk around and shop at the same time and go bring your dog to the pool.
Speaker 1:So I'm kind of baffled by this one, cause I am not somebody that grows things inside my children I did just fine with, because they could tell me when they were hungry, hurt, thirsty, all the things. My plants can't talk to me and I don't speak plant. I feel that, so I know.
Speaker 2:I'm not. I don't have a green thumb either.
Speaker 1:A plant that's not really doing so well and go here here, fix it for me.
Speaker 2:I mean you might be able to. There are some of those plant, ladies and gentlemen, that are essentially wizards when it comes to having that green thumb well, oxana is oh, have you seen her window sale compared to mine?
Speaker 1:oxana, for those of you listening, is my, my area colleague. We share a space, our desks are relatively close and we're both by a window, and hers is full of all these beautiful plants that are flowering and blooming. And I have this one little sad orchid, because my experience with them is that they only bloom once. I think I'm missing the boat on this, but I did get one to re-bloom recently. I think that's good. It was impressive. I'm not even sure if I was completely responsible for it. That was at home. So I have this one little non-blooming orchid.
Speaker 2:Has she helped nurse it back to life?
Speaker 1:She looks at it and kind of cocks her head and is trying to figure out what she can do to help it.
Speaker 2:Maybe you can donate it to Oxana then.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but then I have no plants.
Speaker 2:That's fair. We'll just get you fake plants and it'll be great. Okay, you're so welcome.
Speaker 1:I don't dust them either, so that's fair. There's that. So I like the idea of a plant swap. I mean I think that's cool for people because maybe they're looking for something new. I know Absolutely. Susan has her own way of handling plants in her office, so exactly.
Speaker 2:I love it. So a little bit of something for everyone, and that time frame is at the same time two, two o'clock, so it's going to start a little bit later than the puppy bash, so we can make sure we get the puppies in and they'll be setting up while the puppy bash starts.
Speaker 1:That sounds awesome. What time does Puppy Bash start? 9 to 11. 9 to 11. Cool. That information will be on our website as well. Keep rolling us through. We're only in September, emily, I know.
Speaker 2:We have so many events, it's the issue. So then we roll into our largest signature event that we have all year Crabapple Fest, crabapple Fest. So Crabapple Fest takes place on Crabapple Road on Saturday, october 4th, from 10 am to 5 pm, and we'll have vendors galore. We have clothing, accessories, jewelry pottery candles, anything you want.
Speaker 2:It's a massive shopping event. I am a Georgia Bulldog and I love football season more than anything, and there's always a few vendors who have some fun college football and NFL, so it's a great way to come out and get into the fall. Grab Apple Market will activate their green space. At the same time, in the gravel lot, we'll have the children's entrepreneur market where you can shop with some kid-owned businesses. They run it, they make their products, they do the marketing, they do the everything. Mom just sits back and helps them set up.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I'm going to have to take this back, because it's starting to make me feel like I missed the boat, because in one of our past podcasts we talked with the interns.
Speaker 2:Oh yes.
Speaker 1:With the interns yes. And we rehashed the fact that I did not put voting ballots on my refrigerator for my children to research the topics and the candidates and whatnot.
Speaker 2:Nor did they start a business oh no, this is much more than your average lemonade stand. Granted, some of them might be selling lemonade I'm not sure yet, but could be. They're incredible, so they'll be out there from 10 to 2. We'll have bands, we'll have live music oh, I love it.
Speaker 1:It's a party was literally one of the first events when we first moved to georgia eight years ago. It was one of the first events that we ever attended. It was so fun.
Speaker 2:It's a great time. I mean, it's a full day of shopping and walking around and we'll have great food. We'll have the kids own area back here in the city hall parking lot. We'll have some inflatables, some rides a whole bunch of fun for the entire family for the day.
Speaker 1:And it is dog friendly.
Speaker 2:It is dog friendly, but, as always, please keep your pup on a leash. Ah, there's the disclaimer there's a Parks and Rec in me you know, Don't forget that leash.
Speaker 1:Don't forget the leash. Don't forget the leash. Hey man, it's a thing, it's a thing, All right. So Crabapple Festing on October 4th it just happens to be my parents' anniversary, oh perfect. And then what?
Speaker 2:And then we roll into Carvin and Crabapple which is our, I call it, which is our, I call it. So I feel like Crabapple Fest is like the adults fall festival.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And then we have Carving and Crabapple, which feels like the kids fall festival.
Speaker 1:Fair.
Speaker 2:So it is BYOP, bring your own pumpkin. Bring your own pumpkin. We'll have carving supplies out at Broadwell Pavilion. We'll have some crafts. We have a big spooky Halloween inflatable slide that we've rented for the year. It's going to be. It's very spooky but it's very cool and we'll have whatever.
Speaker 1:You love Halloween, I love Halloween.
Speaker 2:I love it. I am the person who, after Labor Day weekend normally actually on Labor Day weekend I break out all of my fall decorations. October one, all of my Halloween decorations come out. I am a I'm a fall baby myself.
Speaker 1:You know I'm going to. I'm going to disclose something that is not going to shock you. I do not own Halloween or fall decorations. My house is the same all year round, except for Christmas Fair enough and sometimes Easter.
Speaker 2:Understandable.
Speaker 1:But I mean, we're talking like a rabbit.
Speaker 2:I really only decorate September through December.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:It's busy for me personally and professionally.
Speaker 1:You just love Halloween, I just love it all.
Speaker 2:I love it all. So we will have SEC football, we'll have carbon and pumpkins and actually this year we're doing it a little bit different. Instead of just focusing on our Broadwell Pavilion, we are working with Crabapple Market and Market District to put on Halloween Town in Crabapple. Ooh, spooky fun. So the whole day there's little pockets of fun that you can go to. So you can start the party over at Crabapple Market. Okay, they'll do some costume contests. They'll have a DJ from 1 to 4.
Speaker 2:Then you can pop on over to Broadwell Pavilion from four to seven carve your pumpkin watch some football do the thing and then pop on over to Market District for a little after party monster mash with your family and friends. Grab a bite to eat so you'll really be able to activate all of this Halloween town in.
Speaker 1:Cloud Apple. Oh, I love that. I think that's the coolest, the coolest oh, it's going to be so fun.
Speaker 2:You're going to explore every little district that we have down here and dress up in costume and parade around yeah, I'm probably not doing that we don't have to do that, okay, but dress, dress your I'll come dressed as a mountain employee.
Speaker 1:How about that?
Speaker 2:I love that.
Speaker 1:Come dress as a different mountain you will never recognize me come dressed as Cosplay it. We should do that. I know we should do that internally.
Speaker 2:We should. Everybody has to draw a name out of a hat, and that's the employee has to dress up as it's funny.
Speaker 1:My daughter, for the past four years, has dressed up as her boss wherever she's working for Halloween. She dresses up and she's like it's just hilarious. They don't like it, so I do it anyway.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. In my past life I was a dance teacher and a company director and I would have students. We would always do a big hall a week. I'd have students who came dressed up as me, to the point where they would also you're listening so you can't see me, but I do have multiple tattoos and they would come with my tattoos drawn on ice that's detail With my tattoos drawn on Nice. So that's detail, it was commitment, that's commitment.
Speaker 2:It really was. Yeah, I was both creeped out and incredibly impressed, all at the same time.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, one sometimes goes hand in hand with the other, you know. So we're carving in crabapple.
Speaker 2:We got October set, halloween comes, and then we get hit with so the first thing that we got going on in November it is technically invite only, but we do have a volunteer appreciation dinner where we invite people who volunteer for the city, around the city, to come and enjoy a meal together.
Speaker 2:And this is also where we give out our horseshoe of service awards, which are our volunteer of the year awards. It's completely community submission based. We want to know who has benefited you guys, who has worked hard for you, who has really made a difference and who you've noticed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, Cause there's. We have such a great community. So while we're on that topic, why don't you go ahead and throw out the details on how people can nominate somebody?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely so. That form to nominate someone lives on our website. If you hover over, I believe, the residence tab and it'll say Volunteer in Milton. Underneath it it'll say Volunteer of the Year Award and underneath it is just a super easy form to fill out asking you your name, who you're nominating, why you're nominating them, what impact that they've had on the community and really how they benefit us. We've had everybody from people who have worked with the Memorial Markers Crosses, we've had someone who runs a duck refuge, we had someone who ran Rubik's Cube classes in his free time over at the Milton Library. So we've had a ton of great volunteers. We introduced this award last year and it's such a good one.
Speaker 1:There's just no limit to the impact you can have. There's no boundaries to your volunteer efforts. I mean people do so many unique things.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. That you can't help but love every piece of it and I said you couldn't run without them. Oh no, definitely not I mean between working with events or working with some of our outdoor recreation and education cleanups, just benefiting this community in a huge way. I think the least that we could do would be to give them a nice dinner and to honor them at the same time.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I will say it's always quite an effort and I get to stand back and generally watch Emily set all this stuff up and she's just probably the most organized. You just see everything transform from one event to the other. I'm like dang, she got a list.
Speaker 2:They're almost like little mini weddings that you have to put on, especially a little volunteer appreciation. Listen, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1:I can do a pageant. I'm terrified of a wedding and my daughter's not engaged yet.
Speaker 2:Love a wedding. That's how I got into this. I used to play in my friends's weddings and baby showers and everything and just kind of rolled into it as a career.
Speaker 1:Wow, I know, good times You're going to be on speed dial, because it terrifies me. I only have one girl, though, happy to help One girl.
Speaker 2:You got it Two boys, so, but if you're going to volunteer, if you have a volunteer.
Speaker 1:I volunteer you to plan my daughter's wedding.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, Then I will honor myself as a dinner. I've already told you Done, done. But if you're going to nominate somebody or volunteer of the year, that submission deadline is October 10th.
Speaker 1:October 10th.
Speaker 2:Perfect October 10th 2025.
Speaker 1:As with most of this stuff, if you watch our social media, the city social media, you will see tidbits and deadlines and the opening of applications and form submissions and all the things. So it's a really good way to keep track of what's going on Absolutely All the way around.
Speaker 2:So volunteer of the year. Dinner Yep has ended Done. Two days later we host our Sounds about right. It's fine, they're easy. We host our veterans breakfast. Love that one that we do. We partner with Milton Veteran Memorial Markers. Another one that's difficult to say very quickly. And we host just a really lovely breakfast. We do a nice ceremony, we'll have a featured speaker, the scouts always come and present the colors and it's a really lovely day to honor our veterans.
Speaker 2:Feed them a nice breakfast we're all about feeding your bellies if you've you know, yeah, you're very food centric I'm seeing a theme. I know, yeah, that's great, but it's open to the public. It's open to all of our veterans. It'll start at 9 am. You're welcome. In the past couple of years we started at 8 am and we all look at each other the minute we get there and we go why, why are we here this early?
Speaker 1:so 9 am a little bit later we'll do it here breakfast hour good, solid, exactly so.
Speaker 2:We'll do it in city hall, we'll do it in council chambers perfect, perfect timing. It has a really lovely backdrop because you'll see the memorial crosses that are will be out, so it's always a really lovely one for us to honor them.
Speaker 1:It is super impactful to drive through here with all the memorial crosses out. Absolutely, they're well over 800, 900 now, I think that was the last count I heard.
Speaker 2:They're doing good work out there.
Speaker 1:Good work, good work, I know. Okay, so we eat breakfast, you bet. And then what's next? Well, we take like a two week hiatus, which is shocking, I know we you mean I get a hiatus and you get to start planning the finishing up the next event that you've got going, Correct?
Speaker 2:Because we have to roll into the holiday season.
Speaker 1:Okay, we're getting to my favorite event. I can feel it.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we have so much that happens, so much that happens in December, so we kick it off.
Speaker 1:Hey, December's a great month.
Speaker 2:It is a phenomenal month.
Speaker 1:I was born in December.
Speaker 2:That's why it's a phenomenal month, See thank you. I love it, the first big one that we do, because we can't kick off a holiday season without first lighting the tree, without first lighting the tree, of course, obviously. So we have our Christmas and Crabapple tree lighting event that we do over at Broadwell Pavilion. We always do it the first Saturday in December, so it'll be Saturday, december 6th, from 2 to 6 pm at Broadwell Pavilion. I have already made sure that Santa has booked his flights.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:And Santa Claus is coming to town. He rolls in on a fire truck, Fitting Obviously as he should.
Speaker 1:He should come in on the SWAT the bat vehicle.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I could swing that, but that'd be cool. Santa and SWAT it sounds like a, at least like a movie. It's true. The fire truck is at least red, so it matches his color scheme.
Speaker 1:All right, fair enough.
Speaker 2:So he'll come, we'll do. We have free professional photos that we run all day. So if you're needing that last Christmas card, if you are a procrastinator, like I am, sometimes you can come bring your kids, get a free photo with Santa, and they're available maybe two or three days later. It's super quick, and last year was the first year that we did live music, so we partner with the Arts Council, the Millen Arts Council Great group of people.
Speaker 2:Phenomenal, and they set up a whole set for that day. So we'll have a stage, we'll have some live music, we'll bring in a few different bands and singers and artists throughout the day. So you're hearing little different samplings and then right around 5.30, it's time, it's a tree lighting.
Speaker 1:It's a tree lighting. It's hard to believe. It's dark at five. 30 right now I'm enjoying my late, my late days. I know cause I dig it and I'm a summer person and I'm just not ready to know that the sun goes down by five o'clock.
Speaker 2:It does. It's this beautiful twinkling moment.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's beautiful. I love Christmas.
Speaker 2:I do too, and I mean, the whole day is so much fun yeah we'll have cookie decorating. We have crafts. I have another holiday inflatable. I believe I booked the gingerbread one and it's very cute. It's very fun. We have churros. We'll have hot chocolate coffee sold.
Speaker 1:I'm there, I know you got me with churros.
Speaker 2:I know, and I have a special surprise for 5, 30 as part of the tree lighting, but I can't tell you what it is yet, but I you can tell me later I will. I'll give you a hint, though it's something that does not happen often here in georgia, so Okay. I'm going to have to just think there's, there's a brain teaser for you.
Speaker 1:Let's do on that until December.
Speaker 2:Happy August. Can't wait, so the next one.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So Christmas and grab up all. The tree is lit, beautiful outside.
Speaker 1:We're all in our Christmas spirit. We're ready to go. Where are we going next?
Speaker 2:So Don your Christmas jammies. Oh yeah, Don your Christmas jammies and you are going to head to Fire Station 44 for our other signature event Pancake Breakfast with Santa.
Speaker 1:I love that event. I had more fun last year watching all those kids.
Speaker 2:It is the greatest event. We added an activity tent in the fire parking lot last year and we have pictures with the Grinch.
Speaker 1:We had some letter writing to Santa Makes me laugh every time.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's the Grinch is. He comes from Mount Crumpit.
Speaker 1:He blesses us with his presence Very much so I'll tell you and you'll remember this as well, because I don't think if anybody witnessed it they'll never forget it in their whole life. There was a little guy who was dressed as a Grinch and he had on the full shirt that had the fur by his hands and he was looking for the Grinch and he ran outside and he sees the Grinch over by the activity tent and he starts running and it was the coolest thing and of course the Grinch had to mess with him a little bit and ran past him and then gave him a big hug. It was just literally the most fun thing to witness because the kid was so smitten.
Speaker 2:Similarly to that one. We also had Elsa and Anna. We did Last year which I believe they're going to be coming again and a little girl walks in and she was one of the first to arrive, I do remember this and she looks over and she sees Elsa and Anna and I have not in my life heard such a loud squeal and you would have thought that she had just met the most important person in this entire world and it made that early morning the best Worth every minute of it.
Speaker 1:Is this the one that, after she squealed, she stood there with her mouth open and literally couldn't move, like she just stood there.
Speaker 2:She was pun intended, she was frozen, she was frozen, she totally was, it was frozen?
Speaker 1:She totally was, it was. It was literally the best. Then there was another little one that followed Elsa around. Everywhere Elsa went, this little wind was right behind her, it was little mini Elsa's just absolutely worth Incredible.
Speaker 2:It's gold, well, and the bacon, oh the bacon, for sure. We haven't even gotten into the food yet Sorry.
Speaker 1:Well, and the bacon.
Speaker 2:Oh, the bacon for sure. We haven't even gotten into the food yet. Sorry, but because Elsa and Anna had so much fun, olaf got jealous. And Olaf was like I love warm hugs, I love a good time. So Olaf is going to be at pancakes with Santa this year.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, I love it.
Speaker 2:I can't wait. He's my favorite.
Speaker 1:I, I, I'm, I'll get up early for this one. This one is worth every ounce of it's a good one yawning.
Speaker 2:And we're lucky enough to be able to book Santa for two weekends in a row. He's a busy guy, but he somehow finds the time in his schedule to come and hang out with all the good boys and girls of Milton.
Speaker 1:So our Christmas photos.
Speaker 2:Exactly so.
Speaker 1:we have another opportunity, if you still haven't ordered those christmas cards, to get another photo tell me the date of santa it is saturday, december 13th, and it will go from 8 to 11 nice and there will be details on signups and all the things to make sure everybody gets in and is able to see s and whatnot. But even better, it's at Fire Station 44, and it's always fun over there.
Speaker 2:And our firefighters are cooking the pancakes and we always bring in bacon. We'll have some fruit. It's a fantastic morning.
Speaker 1:MFRF shows up Milton First Responder Foundation.
Speaker 2:Our Fire Corps helps out as well. Fire Corps is there, so it's really a big public safety.
Speaker 1:Dig it. Party if you will Dig it At Christmas.
Speaker 2:At Christmas Day, after my birthday, just saying so, we've had this pancake breakfast with Santa, yep. Then, not more than two days later, we have our menorah lighting. Oh yeah, that Chabad of North Fulton helps us out with. They'll come out to Broadwell Pavilion. They bring the biggest, coolest lit menorah, they'll bring their latkes, they bring donuts. The event starts around 5 o'clock and they'll light the menorah at 530.
Speaker 1:That's amazing.
Speaker 2:So we have that on the 15th.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then our last event that we host, the big hurrah.
Speaker 1:Me too.
Speaker 2:It was new last year and this is another one of my brain children. You know I have a lot of events but I have a hard time not creating more of them.
Speaker 1:I'm I've. I've known that about you. I know, so where I know I'm in trouble is when you come by or you send me a teams and go. I.
Speaker 2:I have an idea. Tom hates when I say that too. Yeah, I mean he loves it.
Speaker 1:but you know something's common at some point.
Speaker 2:So our final hoorah of the holiday season is our tea party with Mrs Claus event. Yep, and it is so special we hosted here in council chambers at city hall, and I just feel like Santa gets all the hype in December. Everything's Santa, santa, santa, santa. And meanwhile his wife, who's supporting him throughout all of this, right, it's just forgotten about. Well it's so disrespectful.
Speaker 1:It's pretty standard marriage. Okay, I'm dead. Was I not supposed to say that? Sorry, I was just kidding. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2:I'm in love. So Mrs Claus comes and we have just the most bright and merry tea party. Oh it's, we have real tea china. We have a few activities. We have some face painting. Um, we do a nice etiquette lesson with mrs claus.
Speaker 2:So we know how we know how to drink tea, we know how to behave at a party. And then my favorite time is at the very, very end. We invite all of the kids to come up and sit in front of our big red Christmassy chair as Mrs Claus reads them a lovely story.
Speaker 1:The one that is like red velvet.
Speaker 2:Oh, exactly, that is just so fitting.
Speaker 1:It's a throne. It is a throne, it is a throne.
Speaker 2:And the story time was the absolute greatest part. It was Every person goes away with a little takeaway. Last year they went home with an ornament that they could hang on their tree. So, we're going to do that again this year and this event is open to the public but it is a ticketed only event and those tickets will go on sale in October. Perfect.
Speaker 1:I don't know the exact date yet, but we'll announce it on everything. Please tell me you're going to get the same little cakes that were there last time, because I only got like one of my favorite ones because they all disappeared so quick, the little Petit Fours.
Speaker 2:Yes, of course you can't have a tea party without Petit Fours.
Speaker 1:I don't generally go to tea parties, except for Mrs Claus's Understandable. That's the one I do.
Speaker 2:As you should. Who don't like tea? We have coffee, we have hot chocolate. We'll also have some lemonade. It's truly the best way to end the insanity that is the fall through the winter, and it's on Monday, december 22nd, at 9am here in council chambers. It's the first full day that the kids are out of school, so what better way to you know, celebrate?
Speaker 2:My favorite was last year, so what better way to you know celebrate? My favorite was last year. All of the moms are obviously busy preparing for the day itself, right? So they're prepping in the kitchen, they're baking the pies, they're doing all the things, and this was the perfect activity for grandma and grandpa to come take their grandchildren, and we had so many sweet grandparents who were there and it was just this lovely bonding moment between the two of them.
Speaker 1:Let's make sure that everybody knows that guardians a guardian has to come. It's not as drop your kid off at city hall and correct Um well, mrs Claus is going to babysit them for two hours. Oh no, it's a family affair. This is a family thing and you won't be sorry, because it was really truly very fun to be a part of and watch all the sweet little faces Again, everybody, they're so enamored with Mrs Claus and and the elves that come to help, so brings the joy of Christmas right up, front and center.
Speaker 1:It really helps to ramp up to that big day. It does Pancake starts it, tea ends it. It's the best, it is, it's the best. So that is quite a bit. And then, basically, what happens after tea party with Mrs Claus? Is you get to start all over again?
Speaker 2:I sure do. I take a, I take a nice PTO moment for a little bit and then we pop right back in January for our state of the city event that we host normally the last Wednesday in January.
Speaker 1:but date TBD perfect and we'll hold off on everything coming for 2026, because I have no doubt, here pretty shortly, emily will have all that nailed down anyway and you'll be able to find those details on our website soon enough. Until then, all of these events the current ones for 2025 are located?
Speaker 2:tell us where At miltongagov slash events.
Speaker 1:That's right. All of our annual city events are there. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to Emily. Please, yeah, tell us where.
Speaker 2:You can email me at Emily dot. Do you want me to spell my last name? Yes please, emily. E-m-i-l-y dot S-A-L-E-R-N-O at MiltonGAgov.
Speaker 1:Perfect. She really is open to questions. So if you have any, she's your go-to girl. She's the planner, she's the nuts and bolts. And what else did I call you at the beginning of this? She's the planner, she's the nuts and bolts. And what else did I call you at the beginning of this? I'm pretty at the brains behind the banners, oh that was a good one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a good one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's definitely you.
Speaker 2:I mean, we have so many important people here at City Hall. I feel that I am the luckiest one that I plan the fun you do you do plan the fun?
Speaker 1:I'm somewhat of a chaos coordinator, if you will.
Speaker 2:Uh, that's actually the shirt that I wear. Two pancakes with Santa every year. It has the Grinch on it and says chaos coordinator.
Speaker 1:I actually my daughter and I from our days of directing pageants have t-shirts that say chaos coordinators. I love it. It really is organized chaos. It is.
Speaker 2:And that's the best.
Speaker 1:That's the best of all the events. Anything else you want to add in there that we may have skimmed over that you want to make sure you share with everybody so they're up to speed.
Speaker 2:I feel like we covered it all. I hope we see everybody out at our crazy schedule of fall and winter events. They really are just the most fun. It's such a great way for you guys to spend some time with your family and we make sure that we really have something for everyone.
Speaker 1:That no true words have ever been spoken.
Speaker 2:That's our goal, that is for sure.
Speaker 1:All right everybody. Thanks again, emily, for joining us today and walking us through all the fun headed our way. Whether you're into food trucks, fire trucks or local shopping experiences, there's always something on the horizon for you here in Milton. So stay in the loop. Be sure to follow the city of Milton on social media and sign up for our newsletter at miltongagov. There's an option on there for you to jump on that newsletter with all the good details of what's coming up. And until next time, I'm Christy Weeks and I'm reminding you that in Milton there's always something to look forward to. See you next time.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to Milton in Maine. We hope this episode gave you fresh insights into what makes our city so special. Stay connected and don't miss an episode by subscribing to this podcast on your favorite platform and following us on social media for all updates. And, of course, if you want to learn more about the city, visit us online at wwwmiltongagov for resources, news and upcoming events. Until next time. Thanks for being part of the conversation and we'll see you on the next Milton in Maine.