Recent town members and officials have met twice now in an attempt to bring Old Home Days back to the town of Windham. They are calling it SummerFest, and plan to hold it in June of 2007.

“From what I remember of it, it was the kick-off of the summer for the town,” said Klaus Dobra, a 17-year-old senior at Windham High School. He has lived in the town since he was four.

Dobra has joined the committee focused on publicity for the event.

“I’m trying to help bring in the younger crowds,” said Dobra. “This year, we’re trying to build the event around a theme. You know how the Yarmouth Clam Festival has a central focus? We want to do the same thing.”

One of the things Dobra is looking to involve is local music.

“I want to get some or all of the participants in the battle of the bands concert to play at SummerFest. I think that would draw a lot of the youth. I also want to help try and keep the attendance up throughout the entire day. That way, school clubs and other community organizations can benefit from this a lot more,” he said.

Brian Ross, director of Windham’s department of parks and recreation, said he is looking forward to the event and enjoys the challenge of its planning.

“They wanted me to do it last year, but it was my first year, and I was still learning the ropes. Now that I’m in, I look forward to getting this thing going.”

The community group has met two times so far, and Ross said he is pleased with the amount of interest expressed by the community. The committee is looking to raise $10,000 to pay for the event. It has begun looking into fundraising and wooing sponsors. It is also looking for more volunteers.

“The more people involved, the more we can have to do,” said Ross.

Ross continued to explain how SummerFest disappeared from the town.

“With all the construction going on at the high school, there was no sufficient room to host the event. I guess it sort of just disappeared because of the difficulties in finding a venue. But now those things are out of the way, and people are starting to remember something that is missing,” Ross said.

In the next meeting, Ross and his committees will look into “firming up” the fund-raising agenda. He hopes to get even more interested people involved in the event. He assures the public that there will be fireworks.

“These days, it’s just not an event for most people without fireworks,” said Ross. “But other than that, things are really open at this point. In the old days, kids used to decorate their bicycles, and they would hold a parade.”

“There were all day softball games, and sack races, and other outside sporting events,” said Dobra.

“I’m looking forward to bringing the town together with a good mix of activities,” said Ross.

Even in the planning stages, SummerFest is doing just that.

“This is really cool because not only are all the ages different, but all their backgrounds and expertise, too,” said Dobra. “It’s really cool to see that.”

Dobra said he enjoys working outside the school community.

“This is not just a school thing,” he said. “It’s a town thing. I hope the community will be aware of this, and come check it out.”