Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 22, 2015 5A
Polk County News
Summer: Ode to
Krazy Dayz all
this weekend
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Downtown Dallas is filled with hidden gems for both visitors and residents to discover — or rediscover.
‘Take a closer look’ at Dallas
Branding campaign aims to increase tourism, local exploring
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Think you
know all of what Dallas and
the surrounding area has to
offer? You should take a
closer look.
That’s what the city of
Dallas’ new marketing and
branding campaign will ask
outsiders — and even resi-
dents — to do. The product
of about six months of
work, the campaign’s offi-
cial unveiling will be at
Summerfest 2015.
City Manager Ron Foggin
said when trying to come
up with a slogan that de-
scribes Dallas, the members
of the Economic Develop-
ment Commission steering
committee in charge of
campaign development
struggled to point to one
idea.
The team named several
“hidden gems” about Dal-
las, but didn’t seem to come
up with one overarching
theme.
For example, Dallas is
close to world-class biking
trails, award-winning
wineries, and one of the
most popular birding sites
in the state. It has room to
accommodate new busi-
nesses and that intangible
element of “small-town
spirit.” But how do you de-
scribe all of that in a way
people will remember?
Portland-based consult-
ant on the project Barney
& Wo r t h t o o k t h o s e
ideas — and many more
expressed in surveys of the
community — to create
the slogan.
It seemed to fit perfectly
with what the team was try-
ing to convey.
“People come here and
they just fall in love (with
Dallas),” City Manager Ron
Foggin said. “‘Take a closer
look’ captures that.”
The campaign has five
focus areas: “Ride Wilder-
ness Trails,” featuring the
Black Rock Mountain Bike
Trail system; “Schedule Your
Next Wine Tasting Adven-
ture,” which lists 12 winer-
ies close to Dallas; “Join the
Flock,” highlighting Baskett
Slough National Wildlife
Refuge; “We Make it Easy,”
offering details on available
industrial and commercial
sites and incentives in Dal-
las; and “Catch the Spirit,”
describing Dallas’ quiet,
small-town atmosphere.
“Take a closer look” is an
outgrowth of Dallas’ recent-
ly completed Dallas 2030 vi-
sioning project, a set of spe-
cific objectives the city
would like to accomplish by
the year 2030.
The marketing campaign
focuses on highlights the
area currently has, a num-
ber of which are growing
tourist interests.
In that way, the cam-
paign dovetails nicely with
the Polk County Rural
Tourism Studio effort, said
Suzanne Dufner, Dallas city
planner. Bicycling, wine
tourism and birding all
have potential to bring visi-
tors — and their money —
to the area.
But the committee didn’t
want to stop at tourism. It
branched into the lifestyle
and business opportunities
the area can offer. Paired
with the “things to do” as-
pect of the campaign, Dal-
las is hoping entrepreneurs
give the area a second look
as well.
Materials promoting the
campaign will be available
at the city’s booth at Sum-
merfest on the Polk County
Courthouse lawn Thursday
through Saturday. The goal
is to spread the word that
Dallas may be worth explor-
ing more.
“We are really trying to
get this out and have people
adopt this,” said Jason
Locke, Dallas’ community
d e ve l o p m e n t d i re c t o r,
adding that includes resi-
dents who may think they
know all there is to know
about Dallas. “We are pretty
excited to have this ready to
implement. The response
was very positive.”
For more information:
www.closerlookatdallas.co
m/.
Continued from 1A
Expect to see Truman and Whittaker’s truck along the pa-
rade route Saturday.
But before that, Thursday will kick off Summerfest with
“An Ode to Krazy Dayz.”
Using the festival’s former name as a theme — so many
people still call it Krazy Dayz — was something Metcalfe has
contemplated for a number of years.
One problem: Metcalfe wasn’t sure which way it should be
spelled. It appears there was no one official spelling. She
combed through old I-O stories and festival promotional
ads.
“I found at least six different spellings on one page,” she
said, laughing.
She picked the one she found most frequently and ran
with it.
As far as dressing for the theme, you have as many choices
as there are ways to spell Krazy Dayz. Metcalfe is encourag-
ing people to focus on the “style” of the 1980s and 1990s.
That means you can party like its 1999 — or 1989 if you
prefer — with lace gloves and neon slap bracelets and put
your hair up in banana clips or scrunchies held together with
Aqua Net.
“I don’t think we had forearms back then, between the
multiple Swatch watches — you couldn’t just have one —
and slap bracelets,” she said, laughing.
Saturday’s parade, which will attract many thousands of
spectators, will be the day to show off your best retro look.
“I’m hoping people will really get into it,” Metcalfe said.
“What better excuse to get a little crazy than Krazy Dayz?”
And there’s so much more to enjoy about Krazy Dayz, err
Summerfest, this year.
Thursday brings food and craft vendors and the Summer-
fest main entertainment stage That will stay until Saturday
on the Polk County Courthouse lawn. Look for more food
trucks and more activities sponsored by the Oregon Army
National Guard.
In keeping with the throwback theme, Dallas Fire Depart-
ment will revive an old tradition: hydrocarts. What’s a hydro-
cart, you ask? Think a go-cart with no motor. These carts are
powered by water — from a fire hose. Teams of firefighters
will race to see which is the fastest.
People are welcome to watch the Friday night event —
and while the competition is aiming to conserve water, there
might still be a chance to cool off in a splash zone.
Tony’s Bike Night will cap Saturday night with bikes on
display, a beer garden and live music by Blue Evolution.
Sunday Summerfest takes on a more leisurely nature with
Dallas Rotary’s Breakfast in the Park, the Tom Newton Car
Show, Art in the Park, and a special Sunday Bounty Market —
all in Dallas City Park.
The perfect way to start Sunday is with Dallas Rotarians,
who have serving breakfast to more than 2,000 people down
to a science — they’ve been doing it for more than 50 years,
after all.
“It’s a Dallas tradition,” said Mike Barker, head of the Ro-
tarians breakfast committee.
If you’re still wondering what makes Summerfest one of
the season’s most enjoyable times, check out Section C in
this week’s Itemizer. It has previews have all the events
scheduled and will help make Summerfest 2015 a fun romp
for all.