Garrettsville – Garrettsville Summerfest Committee has been busy trying to put together a great festival after taking a year hiatus. They have chosen a theme of “Back To Fun In 2021.” After the year off, they are more than ready to get “Back to Fun in 2021!” The 2021 Garrettsville Summerfest t-shirts and 50/50 raffle tickets are out and on sale now at the Weekly Villager and Skylanes Bowling Alley. The t-shirts are $12/each or 2/$22. The raffle tickets are $1/each and 6/$5. The raffle helps fund the event and takes the place of the car raffle that’s been done in the past.
The festival will have some of the same things we’ve come to love like the grand parade, Garrettsville Idol, the cloggers, fireworks and more. New this year, is the beard contest, check out the website for more details on the beard contest and be sure to pre-register to guarantee your official shirt. Also new is that tractors will be permitted in the grand parade this year.
Although, the Friends of Melana 5K is not going to be a part of Garrettsville Summerfest this year, there’s still a 5K race and a 1-mile fun run/walk. The 5K race and fun run/walk will be on Saturday morning and is sponsored by the James A. Garfield (JAG) Cross Country Team. There is a $25 entry fee for the 5K and a $15 entry fee for the one-mile run/ walk. The race will be Saturday, August 7, 2021 at 9am. Race Day registration is between 7:30 and 8:15 am. Participants are asked to pick up race packets by 8:30 am on race day. All proceeds will go to the James A. Garfield Cross Country teams. Prizes will include medals for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd place finishers in each age bracket. The age brackets are as follows: 1-14,15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49 and 50+. Registration is going on now at www.gopherarun.com. All participants who registered at gopherarun.com by July 26th will receive a t-shirt commemorating the event. Visit http://gopherarun.com to register for the event. Questions about the race? Contact Matt Pfleger at mpfleger@jagschools.org
Live music is always a draw at Garrettsville Summerfest and this year will be no different. Friday night headliner band features Billy Morris and the Sunset Strip. They are a 1980’s tribute band and play rock and roll. They have played at bike nights, local venues, music festivals and regular festivals just to mention a few. The group features guitarist Billy Morris, formerly of WARRANT and Cleveland’s Breakfast Club. Music fans call them a high energy band and great entertainers. For more information on the band go to http://www.billymorrisband.com/ They take the main stage Friday August 6th at 9pm.
Youth & Teens – Madi Seiler, Emilia Maynard Teens, Ilona Kitchen, Ashley Yankello, Jordan Haney, Mckenna Alai, and Emma Scherick
Local band, Bad Seed will play on the main stage at 6:30- 8:15 pm on Saturday. They are a modern rock band featuring local talent. They are based out of Windham, Ohio and have played at local venues like Time Out Sports Bar in Freedom, Sky Lounge in Garrettsville, and Crossroads in Southington, just to name a few. The band has been together for 6 years and all the talent in the band has been playing for nearly thirty years in various other bands. Their band members are guitarists Rich Gano and Rick Cooley, Scott Harman on the bass, Rich “Mac” Mcie doing vocals and their drummer is Mike Iwanyckyj. Be sure to look them up on Facebook (Bad Seed Band Windham OH).
The Saturday Night headliner band is Invincible, a Premiere Pat Benatar Tribute Band. The band has played at Summerfest before and around the extended region. They feature Michelle McDowell on vocals, Lee Silvis on guitar/vocals, Kristin Kretzler on keys/vocals, Bryan Morris on bass/vocals, Danny Sidoti on guitar and Freddy Sickels on drums. They will take the stage on Saturday night at 9pm. They will take an intermission during the fireworks display around 10 pm. More information on the band can be found at http://.invincibleband.com
Garrettsville Summerfest will be held August 6th-8th this year. It takes place in the beautiful, historic downtown region of Garrettsville at the corners of S.R. 82 and S.R. 88.
