The volunteer board behind Galion Oktoberfest and other community festivals announced Wednesday afternoon that it is stepping away from organizing the events, ending a chapter that began when the group took over Oktoberfest in 2019. The announcement, posted on the Galion Oktoberfest Facebook page, did not identify an individual author. Instead, it spoke collectively on behalf of the board and offered an unusually candid account of the challenges organizers said had made continuing the work unsustainable.
“After much discussion and careful consideration, our board has made the difficult decision to step down from organizing Galion’s festivals,” the post stated.
The board said its members took over Galion Oktoberfest because they believed the community deserved festivals “it could be proud of,” committing evenings and weekends while balancing full-time jobs and family responsibilities.
“We volunteered our time, dedicated countless evenings and weekends, and worked around full-time jobs and family commitments to build events that would bring people together and create lasting memories,” the statement said.
Growth came with increasing pressure
According to the post, organizers worked over several years to expand the festivals through new attractions, additional entertainment, increased attendance and sponsorship efforts. But the board said growth did not resolve deeper structural problems.
One of the largest challenges, according to the organizers, was a chronic shortage of volunteers. The board said the same small group repeatedly carried most of the workload required to stage major public events.
“The reality is that our board has operated with very little volunteer support,” the post stated. “Year after year, the same handful of people carried nearly all of the responsibility. While many enjoyed the festivals, very few made them happen.”
That imbalance appears to have become one of the central reasons for the decision to step away.
Costs and city-related expenses cited
The board also pointed directly to rising costs and funding pressures. More pointedly, the organizers said a substantial portion of festival resources went toward expenses connected with working with the city.
“Instead of investing more into entertainment, activities, and experiences, too much of our budget was consumed simply by the cost of working with the city, our single largest festival expense,” the post stated.
No detailed breakdown of those costs was included in Wednesday’s announcement. The board’s criticism went beyond finances. Organizers also described what they viewed as a lack of meaningful collaboration.
“Rather than feeling supported by the very organizations that should want these events to succeed, we were too often met with reluctance, constant pushback, and unnecessary obstacles,” the statement said. Organizing a community festival should be a partnership. Instead, it often felt like a battle
The post continued with one of its strongest passages:
Acknowledging mistakes while drawing a line
The board did not present its own record as flawless, recognizing publicly that mistakes were made and that they would do things differently with current knowledge. But organizers said the larger burden had become impossible for a volunteer board to continue carrying without adequate financial support, community participation and cooperation.
“No volunteer board can continue carrying this level of responsibility without adequate funding, community involvement, and meaningful support,” the post stated.
At the same time, the organizers expressed pride in what had been accomplished since 2019, saying the festivals brought thousands of people together, supported businesses, provided opportunities for vendors and nonprofit organizations and created traditions for local families. They also thanked sponsors, vendors, entertainers, and volunteers.
A “wake-up call” for Galion
The post concluded not with a call for the festivals to end, but with a warning about what will be required for them to survive.
“Our hope is that this serves as a wake-up call,” the statement said. “Community festivals do not survive because a small group refuses to quit. They survive when an entire community, including its leadership, businesses, volunteers, and residents, works together to support them.”
The board said it hopes Galion’s festivals continue under new leadership, but also made clear that any future organizers will need resources and cooperation that the outgoing board said were too often lacking.
“We sincerely hope Galion’s festivals continue,” the post stated. “We also hope the next group of organizers is given the support, funding, volunteers, and cooperation that were too often missing during our time.”
The final message was both a farewell and an invitation.
“Thank you for allowing us to serve this community for the past several years. We gave it everything we had. Now it’s time for someone else to take the reins.”
Organizations interested in learning more about what is involved in organizing Galion festivals were directed to contact the group at [email protected].