Letter: Thank You Braeger Automotive Group
June 1, 2012
The Milwaukee media accurately reported two weeks ago that with regret and sadness that this year, the Bay View Lions Club members were forced to cancel a long-standing tradition, the South Shore Frolic parade. To be absolutely clear, the Frolic itself will continue this year as a three-day festival July 13-15 that includes fun, food, music, and, of course, fireworks at South Shore Park.
Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a parade sponsor for 2012, and with fees, permits, and parade-participant costs exceeding $25,000, the Bay View Lions Club members had no other choice than to cancel the parade this year.
The past four years the Bay View Lions Club was truly blessed to have Todd Reardon, president of the Braeger Automotive Group, underwrite the cost of the Frolic parade. While extenuating circumstances led to his decision this year, the members Bay View Lions Club and South Shore Frolic organizers want to offer our sincerest thanks and gratitude to this community-minded individual for his parade sponsorship since 2008.
We hope to present the Frolic parade again in 2013; however, the parade and the Frolic event are not on autopilot and need the support of local businesses, the community, and politicians, along with the hard work of the Bay View Lions Club volunteers to continue.
Enjoy the South Shore Frolic, but as shown this year, the Frolic parade and even the Frolic itself should never be taken for granted!
Dave Reszel
South Shore Frolic Publicity Chair and MC
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Shannon on Fri, 1st Jun 2012 7:23 am
Why is the fact that many Bay View organizations and individuals are trying to save the parade not being addressed by the Lions?
Also, if a decision had to be made to cancel something, why wasn’t it the Frolic events by the lake instead of the parade? More people would rather have seen the crappy bands and awful noisy carnies carts get cut in order to divert funds to the parade!
kate on Fri, 1st Jun 2012 10:41 am
Shannon, I could not agree more. I wanted to help and got ignored…
jill on Fri, 1st Jun 2012 12:22 pm
Don’t even get me started on how the club manages things. I supported them for years, completely free services that ran into thousands. But, as with Kate and Shannon, I have found that the club is lacking. I personally, if I show up at all will be there to support the Arts Guild and their amazing Art show. Nothing else. I can live with out the Drama on the Beach.
Randall on Fri, 1st Jun 2012 5:49 pm
Yeah, thanks Braeger for dropping your support so late that it was impossible to save the parad, instead of informing the Lion’s Club with time to react.
I also agree that it is wrong that the family friendly parade gets cancelled, but the family unfriendly booze fest with horrible bands goes on unscathed.
Wow. Will the frolics survive without the parade in 2012? Time will tell.
Dawn Sanders on Sat, 2nd Jun 2012 6:20 am
Everyone loves a parade.
BVB on Mon, 4th Jun 2012 3:17 pm
Actually I don’t love a parade in general, but I do love the frolics parade. It’s such a great time to get out and see your neighbors and it’s just a fun, festive afternoon.
I’m a long time Bay View resident and have always felt the Frolics itself is just kind of a toilet. We live 4 blocks from South Shore park and I swear, I need to bathe when the wind comes off the lake just to prevent catching a good case of TB. People are gross, food is gross, music is bad. Blech. Can’t we do better? I agree, keep the parade and perhaps limit the garbage during the actual frolics.
Lisa on Thu, 21st Jun 2012 3:35 pm
That awful ‘entertainment’ at the lake and crappy carny level activities should have been dropped years ago. Not only to beef up the parade but to keep it more of a family event. How much does it cost to pay a band that plays in the hot sun at noon for a handful of early drunks to sit and watch?. Not necessary. And shame on the businesses on the very parade route for not helping more.
Jake on Thu, 28th Jun 2012 9:06 am
I think a lot of you preaching against serving alcohol forget that a large part of those sales pays for the festival in the first place. While I agree the bands are festival like (meaning not so great) it’s still part of the frolics. I went to the parade last year and I can do without that but if you take away the revenue generation from the alcohol and crappy carny stuff the frolics itself will disappear. BVB, get your nose out of the air. Just because you live in the Bay View neighborhood, it’s still Milwaukee. Not everyone is trash there, my family and friends go every year.
BVB on Sat, 21st Jul 2012 7:16 am
Well if I was really a snob, I’d not be living in Bay View; I’d move to the suburbs. I grew up in a tough part of the South Side so it’s not like I come from some magical fairy tale land. I am committed to the city, and to Bay View. If I wasn’t, I would have left a long time ago.
It’s hard to get warm and fuzzy about the frolics when you live on a one way street that is used to divert traffic after the frolics. For the last few years in particular, I’ve had drunk a-holes pissing my lawn, a line of cars at a dead stop on my street due to traffic being jammed, well after midnight, everyone honking, fights breaking out etc. Someone threatened someone with a gun in front of my house a couple of years ago. I get that I live in the city and so there will always be this kind of thing but that doesn’t mean I need to be tolerant it. This year, all my neighbors complained about how ridiculously obnoxious the fireworks were on Sunday night. There’s no reason to drag this crap through Sunday night when people who work have to get up in the morning and be productive. It was like an assault, dogs freakin’ out, no one’s sleeping, windows rattling. WTF.
Jake, I’m not dissing your family or you for going to the frolics. And in fact, I walked down there Friday night to meet a friend for a beer. Of course I saw no one else I knew from the neighborhood there. It’s like a church festival without the community. That’s what’s lacking and that’s what bums me out about it. That, and it just attracts many people who aren’t always respectful of the fact that there are people actually live here.