FORSYTH - Darci Wilson has been looking for fun things to do this summer with her two young children.

Wilson, a single mother who lives in Springfield, heard from friends that Forsyth was holding a Family Fest on June 19 and 20. She called one of the event organizers, looking for a schedule of events.

What she was told upset her.

She was told it was an event put on as a thank-you to village residents. She came away from the call feeling people from other communities were not welcome to attend.

"I've never known any town to have something and not want anybody to be there," Wilson said. "It's a way to support the local neighborhoods. They're not wanting anybody but their little town to come to it."

Village Trustee Marilyn Johnson, who is the chairwoman of the activities and events committee in charge of organizing the event, asked the Herald & Review not to publish information about the event beforehand. Johnson said they wanted to limit attendance at the festival to Forsyth residents as much as possible.

Organizers believed they couldn't keep aspects of the events free if large crowds from other communities came, so Johnson said they didn't want Family Fest widely publicized.

A schedule of events was published in the village newsletter that is sent to Forsyth residents, who could get all they needed to know there, Johnson said.

The annual event features activities including a parade, Taste of Forsyth, carnival, musical entertainment and fireworks.

"It's kind of an opportunity for a family get-together of a sort," Mayor Harold "Hap" Gilbert said. "It's kind of Forsyth Family Fest, and we kind of consider ourselves all one big family here. It's something we look forward to every year. It's a real good opportunity for our folks to get together, mingle and have a good time together."

Family Fest, however, is financed through taxpayer money, Gilbert said. The budget for this year's event was $45,000, which Gilbert said comes out of the village's sales tax-heavy general fund. The total cost for this year's event is undetermined, as receipts still need to be tallied, Gilbert said.

Among the budgeted items this year are carnival rides. The village board of trustees approved a contract in January with Clay County Amusements, agreeing to pay $10,000 plus some expenses, including hotel accommodations for carnival workers and a fuel surcharge fee.

The contract for entertainment cost $4,000, but $2,000 was added after the performance was moved to a stage rather than an amphitheater, where it had been in previous years. The village also agreed to pay for three hotel rooms for two nights, sound, lights, stage, food, generator rentals and an air-conditioned dressing room, which all added to the entertainment cost.

The $45,000 budgeted this year for Family Fest was slightly more than the $41,500 for last year's event, village Administrator Austin Edmondson said.

Edmondson said over half of the village's revenue comes from the sales tax.

"It is good that we're able to provide the citizens of Forsyth an environment that they enjoy," Edmondson said about the importance of the sales tax.

The fluctuation of the sales tax affects which projects can get done in the village, Gilbert said.

"Because of the sources of our revenue, we are predominantly heavy relying upon sales tax revenue, where other communities that don't have the retail base have to rely more on fees and real estate taxes," Gilbert said.

Essentially, people such as Wilson who come from out of town to shop and eat in Forsyth are among the ones contributing to the quality of life in the town. Knowing that, Wilson found it unfair she was made to feel unwelcome at the event, especially considering how much she and her family shop in Forsyth.

"We're not saying they can't come," Gilbert said of those from out-of-town. "We're just not advertising it widely."

Gilbert said the thinking of the activities and events committee was to limit the size of the crowd so that parking and space in the park would not become an issue.

In a down economy, Wilson said, she was looking for something affordable and fun to do with her children, ages 4 and 5. She thought the Forsyth Family Fest sounded like the right fit.

"With the economy the way it is, people don't have money to go on vacation," Wilson said. "They can't really go to Six Flags. They can't do all that fun stuff. I'm not against spending some money. We don't have a bunch of money to go on a big vacation, so we're trying to find as much stuff locally that we can do."

Instead of going to Forsyth, Wilson's mom, who lives in Decatur, brought the children to the Decatur Celebration Spring Fling Carnival taking place at the same time in the Northgate Plaza parking lot.

"She took the kids, and they had a blast," Wilson said. "It was something local that the kids could do, and it was fun."

clusvardi@herald-review.com|421-7972