‘Bringing people together’

PEPPERELL — The inaugural Summer Fest coming up in town this weekend is sure to be fun for all ages.

The event presented by the new Celebrate Pepperell committee being held on Saturday, August 15 from 5 to 10 p.m. at the town field on Hollis Street will feature food trucks, axe throwing, bouncy inflatables, face painting, animal and medieval exhibits. In addition, there will be live music by Billy and the Jets — a Billy Joel and Elton John tribute band — and the return of a laser show at dusk, which was a huge hit at last summer’s town 250th anniversary celebration.

Celebrate Pepperell committee members Thomas Hawkins and Jennifer Gingras are part of the hardworking crew putting the affair together. The town residents said this will become an annual event held in town every August and that they have heard from a lot of people who are looking forward to this town tradition launching.

“The response has been really positive. People are excited to have another reason to get together as a community,” said Gingras, with Hawkins adding that “going forward the community will see a lot of new ideas and event coming to Pepperell by the committee.”

They are both looking forward to the epic lasers and music show being put on by Pinnacle Laser, who does a show on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire every year and offered to come back to Pepperell for Summer Fest.

“Last year’s brought out such a wide range of people, all sitting together on the town field. Watching everyone share that moment together was beautiful, and I can’t wait to see it happen again,” Gingras shared.

Hawkins said they are happy to bring the laser show back as it is something “not too many communities have a chance to display at their events” that for him personally, doing axe throwing for the first time, free of charge at that, sounds fun.

They, along with the other Celebrate Pepperell committee members, came together as a way to combine efforts by various committees in town and work together to provide events and such.

“We thought one committee would help us pool volunteers and support each other’s events, rather than everyone working separately, and we also recognize Pepperell has a rich history worth celebrating,” Gingras said. “Our main goal is to keep building community connection and bringing people together.”

She went on to say they got feedback from town residents through surveys “that people love having chances to gather and want more of them.”

“Giving people more reasons to come together keeps that spirit alive and helps neighbors actually get to know one another,” Gringas conveyed.

Hawkins disclosed that the plan for Celebrate Pepperell is to have a few fundraising events throughout the year and then Summer Fest every August.

“Having the fundraiser allows the committee to offer an event at an affordable price which is mostly free for the community,” the lifelong town resident said.

He shared that he was inspired to join Celebrate Pepperell “after being a part of the Pepperell 250th committee and seeing the community enjoy our events.”

“Working in the entertainment industry and having connections, I wanted to bring fresh ideas to the events we bring to the community,” he shared. “I would love to see Pepperell Summer Fest become an annual event that the community looks forward to every August with each year having a theme and tribute band to keep everything fresh and fun.”

For more information follow Celebrate Pepperell on Facebook.