Celebrate Springfield is a nonprofit initiative made up of volunteers from Hatch Foundation, a family foundation that makes efforts to connect residents to local experiences. The organization works to showcase different activities, events and opportunities the community has to offer in an effort to make culture and community engagement more accessible in Springfield.
The kick-off celebration marked the beginning of the year-round initiative of highlighting what’s happening in the community. Hatch Foundation’s goal is to get residents to “love where they live” by helping the community discover what they enjoy about Springfield, according to the Celebrate Springfield website.
They partner with various local businesses and organizations, like the Springfield Art Museum and Gillioz Theatre, to make ways to get involved more accessible. They provide resources and information about organizations, their events and information on discounts and how to get involved.
Erin Danastasio is the executive director of Hatch Foundation and the creator of the celebration. Danastasio said that the goal of the annual event is to emphasize the unique things that make Springfield special and connect residents to them.
She added that part of that is removing barriers that make it difficult to get involved in the community, like cost, transportation and knowledge. They work to provide information that includes transportation options and affordability.
“(We’re) trying to help remove the barriers of intimidation or lack of know-how. So just trying to bring a variety of organizations together where people can come and visit with them and learn about the organization,” Danastasio said.
Approximately 25 different local businesses and organizations offered activities at the celebration, so those who attended were able to interact with them for free.
Danastasio noted that the celebration is not only a great way to get involved, but a great way to learn more about the organizations that make up the community. She said the organizations that participated showcased different areas throughout Springfield like The Gillioz Theatre and Ozark Greenways.
She explained that the inspiration behind the celebration is to encourage people to experience Springfield to the fullest, which sparked Hatch Foundation to turn Celebrate Springfield into a year-round initiative rather than just in the month of September.
Their website offers year-round ways to get involved in the community, such as a 'Things To Do' page with a variety of places to visit and activities to join. There's also a 'Community Connections' page with different sections of interest to explore, like the arts scene, performance scene or food scene. They also have a 'Featured Events' page that shows upcoming events, like Cinema Sundays at The Gillioz — free film showings put on by Celebrate Springfield and The Gillioz Theatre.
“There’s just so many unique things about Springfield,” Danastasio said. “And being able to highlight such a wide variety, so that way we’re ideally hitting on something everybody can find interest in.”
