Sunday evening as we concluded our 36th Darien Fest at Westwood Park, I spent some time reflecting on what has been a very emotional week in my life, and the kindness shown by those who I came into contact with throughout the weekend. To be quite honest, I didn’t know if I would make it through one night, let alone a full weekend. As I walked throughout the crowd on Friday, tasted the food and listened to the music, I was engaged by a number of individuals, some who knew me, and others who were meeting me for the first time. Regardless of the depth of our relationship, they each had kind words to share about the fest or about the city, and many made sure to thank me and our staff for our work in presenting them with this fest. The kindness demonstrated by many of these individuals made my 36th Darien Fest truly a memorable weekend.
I want to offer my thanks to the wonderful people and community groups I met over this last weekend; thank you for your kindness and your appreciation of all the work that went into planning and implementing the fest. A special thank you to April Padalik, the Darien Chamber of Commerce, the Darien Park District, our Darien Police, city staff and all our great food vendors, especially Melanie Tatum and her superstar key holder Mev who worked to put a smile on my face with one of their delicious Bundt cakes. To all of them, I say “It isn’t what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart.” Thank you for making my Darien Fest weekend pleasurable, you truly touched my heart.