Foley employees’ prompt response saves Art in the Park after flooding

Foley employees’ prompt response saves Art in the Park after flooding

A prompt reaction by Foley Parks and Recreation Department employees on a Saturday morning helped save much of the city’s Mother’s Day Weekend Art in the Park celebration in John B. Foley Park. The event is sponsored by the Foley Art Center to raise money for art scholarships in the area.
This year, heavy rains hit the area on the night of May 9 and morning on May 10 as many of the 80 artists taking part in the 2025 event were setting up for the event.
Chloe Salinas, Art Center executive director, said the rains flooded the park and threatened to postpone the event.
“A lot of the vendors set up on Friday and they thought they were going to be OK. They had done everything correctly as far as sandbagging and fenders, but it just rained so much Friday night and Saturday morning,” she said. “The city crew came in with pumps and they were able to pump the water out. They brought in sand and they had it cleaned up.
“Had it not been for them getting in the pumps and getting everything done right away, we would have had to cancel for Saturday,” she added. “There was just no way we could have done it.”
She said that in addition to the workers who were on call for the weekend, more Foley employees turned out on Saturday morning to help clean the park and get the event going.
Employees who helped with the cleanup included Ryan Harrison, Freddy Cuellar, Matthew D’Agati, Joanna Blue, Michelle Gann, Wes McKenzie, Corey Ryan, Vincent Salac and Daniel Seavall.
“They really did a great job and helped make the weekend a success,” Salinas said. “We would not have been able to do this without them.”