By CJ Vetter
The Port Lavaca Wave
Lemonade stands are a cultural icon of summer and from 1-3 p.m. on June 24, children across Calhoun County will be squeezing lemons, putting up signs and building booths (with their parent’s help) as part of the Port Lavaca Chamber of Commerce’s Lemonade Day.
Spearheaded by organizer Christie Whitaker, Lemonade Day’s goal is to get children and their families involved in their community by working together on a lemonade stand. By participating, Whitaker believes that children will learn valuable social skills and get business experience, as well as earn a little bit of cash for the summer.
“Right now, we have 29 kids signed up, and we’re hoping to have more, but we’re so excited. It’s great to have a community get involved and have those kiddos earn some extra spending money,” Whitaker said. “It’s a good way to encourage socialization between families and their neighbors. There’s a lot of technology going on and kiddos on iPads and phones, so it’ll be a good way to teach your kids how to talk and shake hands with people in a safe environment.”
Children, with help from their parents, will design their stands from the ground up by choosing everything about their booths, from the name, the look and the price of a cup of lemonade. Whitaker recommends, however, that they keep it around a dollar.
“We’re hoping every kiddo will have a handful of customers, at the least, by getting the word out there and engaging with community members all throughout Calhoun County,” Whitaker said. “We just want families to get involved and have the kiddos enjoy working with their caregivers. This is our first year doing it, so we don’t plan on making it a competition.”
Inspired by events found in other counties, the chamber hopes to spread the word about every participant and involve as many people as possible. Pucker Up Sips & More, a local hand-squeezed lemonade truck, even shared a video on Facebook teaching children how to make the perfect cup of liquid sunshine for their own stands.
“We will advertise each lemonade stand and put which neighborhood they’re in online so that people will know where to go. There will most likely be a lemonade stand very close to you no matter where you are,” Whitaker said.
Parents with interested children are asked to register their kid’s booth at plchamber.org/lemonadeday and provide some information such as which neighborhood the booth will be in and if any basic supplies are needed. While a phone number and address are required, neither will be released to the public.
“We’ll also make sure each stand will have a visitor, so no child will be disappointed. I’m sure a lot of kids are going to go all out and have some treats with it, so it should be a really good day to feel refreshed,” Whitaker said. “Who doesn’t want a nice cold lemonade on a warm summer day?”
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