Town populations shrink and grow consistently. But in the ebb and flow of population swings, one consistent remains, and that is town pride. One upcoming example of this is Kenilworth Day, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5. To speak on the event and talk about the importance of community, Oran Stainbrook sat down with Castle Country Radio to discuss Kenilworth Day.

Opening up both our conversation and Kenilworth Day, Stainbrook talked about the coffee hour which kicks off the festivities at 10 a.m. “That’s going to be at the old company store out on our big, beautiful porch there.” explained Stainbrook,” We’ve got a nice view and just want to have an hour for people to come to hang out and have a cup of coffee with their neighbors.”

The biggest event of the day will be a volunteer work party from noon to 4 p.m. “Kenilworth is kind of a unique situation because we have three public parks, but we’re sort of responsible for stewarding them on our own. So once or twice a year, some neighbors get together and we just go to the parks and try to keep the weeds down, clean up the litter and trim the trees. So that’s what we’re going to be doing, just some general landscaping maintenance, nothing fancy.” Stainbrook continued,” So if people want to help with that, they can bring some work gloves and a rake or a shovel, and that’ll be helpful.”

To celebrate the volunteer work, the next event of the day starting at 5 p.m. will be a potluck dinner. “It’s just a chance for people to break bread and get to know each other. This is the only time during the year that we have an event like this. It’s a chance for the whole town to congregate. So we’re going to do that at the store again. If people want to participate, just bring a little something to share. No alcohol, please. It’s a sober event.”

For parking at these events, Stainbrook emphasized that visitors should park on the northwest side of town, as it is the only location with easily accessible public parking.

Closing out the day, the party moves to the Rio Theatre in Helper, where in a fundraiser for the parks of Kenilworth, they will screen three horror short films. “Two of these short horror films were shot at the old company store and  in and around Kenilworth. And we were planning on hosting just a little cast and crew screening for fun. But I thought, why not do a fundraiser for the park since we actually could use a little bit of financial help, specifically to preserve and restore the historic fireplace structure that’s at the entrance to Kenilworth.”

Admission to this event will be $5, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and the screening starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online here.

Stainbrook also took the time to discuss the importance of community events like this,” Kenilworth days is a long-standing, decades-old tradition. This is something that people have done for generations. And I think that’s something that we value throughout Utah is the importance of community and having these celebrations where we have a chance for people that live in one neighborhood or one city to get together and build community that way. I think it’s especially important nowadays when we risk falling into disconnection and isolation. A lot of people are very lonely … I think it’s more important than ever that we maintain our traditions and these opportunities to get together and build community in person.”

Kenilworth Day will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For those interested in attending Kenilworth days or to view the full schedule of events, you can visit its Facebook page here.