June is sorta shy of big-time holidays and celebrations. Ya got yer Flag Day on the 14th, yer Full Strawberry Moon on the 11th, Juneteenth National Independence Day on–what else–the 19th, the Summer Solstice ( the astronomical /meteorological first day of Summer–longest day of the year) on the 20th, a Shakespearean Midsummer Day on the 24th (to go with the Midsummer’s Night?). And that’s about it. St. Boniface, St. Barnabas & St. Basil get hardly another thought–colectively, St. Irenaeus, ditto; Sts. Peter & Paul, at the clean-up spot on the line-up, not exactly power hitters. Right? Have to do festivities of our own.
So…start setting your sights on SummerFest; it’s coming right up–last full weekend in June. New theme every year. This year we might have to go with “Water Wonderland” or “RainDay Riot”…with prizes for the backstroke instead of the burger-eating contest. When I discovered what was the grand prize for the raffle, I determined that I would have to at least buy a fistful of tickets; that little runabout looks like a ton o’ fun. “Red, White and Summer Nights” is the suitably patriotic theme for this year, since we mark 250 years from the 1775 hatching of this American Eagle. Get your shirt before they all sell out. Everybody’s doin’ it.
Live music, two stages, food selections a-plenty, a mullet contest (Now there’s a fashion statement!), the Garrettsville’s Got Talent (GGT) competition–one of the largest summer events in Northeast Ohio–free admission, fun for the whole family. Don’t miss it. You can’t miss it; it takes up all of Main Street, Friday through Sunday. Grand Parade on Sunday has all of the fire trucks, marchers, people waving from shiny cars, homemade floats, teams in trucks that anyone could want to see (Modesty forbids my mention of the semi-professional announcer).. There’s even a Tractor Parade on Saturday, with some of the biggest, Biggest, BIGGEST machines you have ever seen; plenty of them cost more than my house–certainly more than my car.
Festive? We make our own festivities around here. See ya there.
