Palmer Community Days Turn 30

Diane Grube is in her zone.

It's days before the start of and the event organizer is "starting to have my meltdowns."

Grube and her family have held the planning torch for this festival since its beginning. That was 30 years ago.

"I just can't believe it's been 30 years," she said.

Grube has Community Days planned like a well-oiled machine, township officials say. But that doesn't stop her from going a little nuts.

"I'm in my community weekend mode," she said. "I'm walking around in circles."

And while the forecast looks promising, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 80s all week, Grube doesn't even want to take a look until Tuesday.

"I'm always nervous about the weather," she said. "I hope everything goes off good."

Once again, Grube is pulling out all the stops.

The will make an appearance on Thursday.

"I'm so excited. I don't know how we got him, a little bit of luck," she said about the mascot. "The kids are just going to go crazy. I love him."

The festival also includes bands, food and fireworks.

"It's absolutely a great event," said Supervisor Bob Lammi. "Seeing all the people there, people feel very comfortable with their children. A lot of non-profits make some money there. It helps out the community and shows off a lot of community pride."

Supervisors Chairman Dave Colver applauds the work done by Grube, along with the police, parks and public works departments.

"It's this great little hometown community event," he said. "What a great thing for the community to run this event successfully for 30 years."