Golden Valley Days 'Brings Unity into the Community'

Nine years ago Scott Grayson was a member of Golden Valley's city council when he came up with the idea of starting a music and art festival.

"We have great parks and businesses in common, but things like different school districts can split us apart," Grayson says.  "So we wanted to bring people together, and this was a way to do it."

So Grayson, along with five other residents, started meeting regularly and in 2004, Valley Days was born.  This year the festival is only being held on one day because so many events celebrating the city's 125th anniversary will be taking place throughout the summer and fall.

"Golden Valley emerged from family farms and became a village and then the city we know today," Grayson says.  "It's fun to be a part of the history."

Grayson also says Valley Days is one way he, his wife and three kids feel a sense of identity.  Grayson oversees the parade, and says it's hard not to feel a sense of pride as churches, synagogues, the city council, a high school drum line and the General Mills honey bee all march by.

Grayson isn't on the city council anymore, but he continues to work with four of the five orginal people who brought Valley Days to fruition.  One of those five was a mom who who felt something was missing each summer for her two sons.

"There used to be a carnival where city hall is," Anna Silverman says.  "When they built the hall, there wasn't anything for 12 or 13 years. So this was a great way to bring some of that fun back for the boys and to bring the community together."

Silverman and her husband have lived in Golden Valley for 33 years.  Their boys were teenagers when Valley Days first began in 2004.

"Scott (Grayson) was the one who said we would bring unity into the community, and that stuck with all of us," Silverman says.  "We've been able to show our kids that you don't always have to be paid to be getting something out of your community.  We can all be more civic-minded and have a great time doing it."

Silverman's sons are at home this weekend every year so they can volunteer in the parade or help their mom with the dozens of local artists she recruits to put their work on display.

"We don't aim to have a great, big event," she says.  "We're just the right size for people to have conversations with artists and with each other."

Valley Days kicks off with a parade (see attached map of the route) of more than 50 groups that's about a mile long.  The rest of the day guarantees something for all ages all day long, including fireworks at night.

"The littlest ones have games, the teenagers love the music and the food, and everybody love the art," Silverman says.  "We've got everything from pottery to American Girl clothes to jewelry and sculptures."

For more information on the day's events, times and locations, visit the Golden Valley Days website.  If there's rain on Saturday night, fireworks will be postponed to Sunday night.  But don't let the rain keep you from heading over to Brookview Park during the day.

"We seem to see rain every year," Silverman says.  "But we also see the satisfaction on everyone's faces every year, too.  Despite the rain."

"Even if I see it, I won't believe it," Grayson says.  "I'm only going to see sunshine.  When you see a child's face light up when the big trucks and sirens go by, you'll be seeing plenty of sunshine, too."