Hopkinsville won six Kaleidoscope Awards in as many categories Tuesday night at the closing ceremonies of the 2020 Southeast Festival and Events Association (SFEA) Conference.
Hopkinsville Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Brooke Jung says the City’s Parks and Recreation Department received silver awards in Best Event Under $75,000 and Best Social Media: Instagram, both for the 4th Annual Hoptown Summer Salute Festival. They also won a silver in Best Merchandise for the “0.0” sticker that was created for the Planters Bank/Jennie Stuart Health Hoptown Half Marathon & 5K this past September.
Parks and Recreation Superintendent Tab Brockman says the team works tirelessly with many other city and county divisions to create, promote and positively execute an array of exciting events and festivals that will create a high quality of local life and provide varying opportunities for local residents and visitors. He notes, “we don’t do it for glory or recognition, but to have those efforts recognized on a national level is an awesome bonus that they are very proud of”.
The Trail of Tears Commission brought home a gold award in the Best Program or Brochure category for the Trail of Tears Pow Wow, a souvenir program created by Tommy Lopez. In addition, the Trail of Tears Commission received silver in Best Children’s Programming for the Trail of Tears School Days event, which saw 1,400 students, teachers and volunteers prior to the start for the Intertribal Pow Wow.
Trail of Tears Commission President Jimmy Dossett says they are very honored to receive these awards. He adds, “the commission works extremely hard to create an event that celebrates Native American Culture and history”.
According to Jung, the Visit Hopkinsville team won a bronze award for Best Selfie Station at the Hoptown Summer Salute Festival. She notes the GIF photo booth, which has been on-site at several local events over the past year, created 539 free digital souvenirs for festival-goers in 2019.
Jung says they have had so much fun bringing their interactive photo booth to life. She adds, “as people continue to see their photo booth at local events, we see them get excited to create memories that they can send straight to their phones and cherish forever”.
This was the first year Hopkinsville has participated in the SFEA Conference, which was held in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The awards distributed by SFEA go to twelve states in the Southeast region.
