CENTER – The town of Center was rocked with music, a tailgate party, and a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new football field. The excitement all took place on Friday, Sept. 6, beginning at Center Town Park.
The event was a collaboration between the Center Consolidated School District (CCSD), the Town of Center, and the Civic Health Club called “Warm Cookies of the Revolution.” The theme for the tailgate party was Viking Vision/Game Time.
Approximately 300 people attended the event. The event kicked off with a live band that brought everyone together under the Center Park Pavilion. There were people dancing and smiling, along with delicious food that was served to everyone. The food was free to the public and included tasty hot wings, with sides of pasta salad, and corn on the cob, with many different toppings to choose from for the corn. Drinks were punch and water.
There were games, such as cornhole being played by kids and adults, and in the middle of it all there were a few circus performers, including two women swinging from high tight ropes, on a silver bar set, along with a juggler and other entertainment. There were also free Viking T-shirts given out to everyone until they were gone.
Around 5:30 p.m. everyone who attended the event headed from the pavilion to the entrance area to the new football field. The Town of Center board members, Mayor Archie Gallegos, CCSD Superintendent Carrie Zimmerman, and CCSD’s Katrina Caldon-Ruggles, all came together to take a picture in front of the new field.
The football team then marched in, and held the line in front of the field, while the ribbon was cut. Everyone cheered excitedly as the players walked onto their new field for their homecoming game.
Superintendent Zimmerman spoke about the ribbon cutting and the new field.
“We are super excited. Everything has really gone very smoothly. We started working on this a year ago. We got a GOCO (Great Outdoors Colorado) Grant. That’s how this all started. We asked the town commissioner if we could just get going on this football field and track, and they gave us permission. We just rocked and rolled with it. So, the fact that it’s already come this far is really exciting. We have a scoreboard coming in the next couple of weeks. The school board has been super supportive, too,” she said.
Zimmerman explained that all thought the field is almost complete, the track around the field still needs to be finished, but she stated that the company working on everything has been to work with and she sees everything running smoothly for the track, too.
“The company has really followed through, and we are super excited about it,” she said.
Zimmerman stated that when the track is done and officially ready, they will do a ribbon cutting for that too.
Zimmerman also explained that she felt everyone seemed to be having a good time, and she was glad that the school could partner with Future Town to make it all possible.
“Katrina Ruggles did a lot of the leg work with them; she has worked with them in the past too. We partnered with them on our tailgate party, and they brought in all the food and everything. It’s just been great,” she said.
Caldon-Ruggles of Center Consolidated School District talked about the success of the event.
“The Future Town tailgate party was a huge success. We are so thankful to all the community and students for showing up to celebrate. We had so much fun! What a great way to celebrate the inauguration of the new football field and to come together to support our youth. A special thanks to our PICS (Parents Involved for Center Students) program for putting together all the food. They worked so hard! They fed all the football, volleyball, and cross-country teams and a bunch of the cheerleaders at the school before the game and fed our pregame party. Also, thanks to Adrian Molina and Warm Cookies of the Revolution, a Denver-based civic organization, for their support in making this happen. We had a live band, the Salida circus, and a DJ. The Center Viking Youth Club provided games and helped set up tables and chairs. As always, our community came together to make this happen! Several hundred people came to enjoy the festivities and the game. We are super proud of the effort our young men gave. Viking Pride is always strong, and the community support is a big part of this! Finally, thanks so much to Carrie Zimmerman for all her work to make the new field come to fruition,” she said.
Warm Cookies of the Revolution are a Civic Health Club that hosts Future Town Tours. According to their website, the group is trying to center rural Colorado into smaller towns in the future rather than the past. In the past, rural areas were not really thought of. The group is currently working with local organizations in different towns and visiting different towns with this tour. The group wants to focus on increasing social cohesion, across race, language, culture, and geography. One of the biggest focuses of the group is to bring positive change to rural areas and small towns.
