NEW SALEM — The Selectboard voted unanimously this week to more than double the budget for the town’s Old Home Day in September.
Jeanne Clayton, the acting chair of the event’s organizing committee, addressed the Selectboard on Monday to explain the plans for the event’s 2026 rendition. The Selectboard approved a $2,895 budget, representing a $1,545 increase from last year. The decision must now go to the Finance Committee and get Annual Town Meeting approval.
Clayton mentioned that 2026 will be the third year of Old Home Day following a four-year hiatus that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. The parade was revived in 2025.
“We feel like we’re still in a ‘Build Back Better’ period. So, we feel as a committee that 2025 was better than 2024, and we want 2026 to build on 2025 and make it even better,” she said via Zoom. “A lot worked well this past year and we want to keep it the same.”
Old Home Day also benefits from Cultural Council grant funding, which, in 2025, covered the entire cost of the $1,520 band, according to Clayton.
“This year, [the Cultural Council has] allotted us $750,” she said, meaning organizers would “have to put that additional $770 in our budget” to cover the expense of having a band.
Clayton mentioned the organizing committee also has fundraising plans.
“Last year, we tried food trucks and we didn’t find it successful. Some of them didn’t show up, some of them didn’t pass inspection and it ended up that food was scarce,” she said. “We want to try to bring back the previous model of having the Fire Department prepare a grilled lunch, and we think it would be a better lunch, and it would keep profits within the town. And we plan to work with the Fire Department to serve a grilled-burgers lunch, and there would be a plated lunch that would include a hamburger or a veggie burger.”
There will also be a bagged grilled cheese sandwich option, Clayton added. She said the committee plans to sell 125 plated lunches for $10 each and 50 grilled cheese sandwiches for $5 apiece, and the proceeds would benefit the Fire Department, after expenses.
The acting chair also said $300 is needed for new signs.
“We like having the September date. This year, we want to do it on Sept. 12,” Clayton said. “We like the 10 o’clock-to-3 o’clock schedule, and we request that vendors do their setup before 10 and their takedown after 3. That worked well.
“We have begun putting all the activities in the area of the [town] common, and not using the more outlying areas, such as the Town Hall, the Stowell Building and so on,” she continued. “We feel like we’ve got a good handle on parking, where we’re asking people to park either before the common or beyond the area of the common, and keeping the roads surrounding the common as clear of traffic as possible, particularly during that 10-to-3 period.”
The 2026 event will also commemorate the 250th year of American independence.
Selectboard member Mailande DeWitt said the budget proposal seemed “extremely reasonable” and would be a way to increase community engagement, which has been one of the committee’s goals for years. Selectboard member Richard Taupier said he would like to see participation by some other nonprofits in town.