Garrettsville – Garrettsville Summerfest brought back the “Fun in 2021” with a reloaded edition of the festival.
They had a date change to help raise funds for the annual summer event that was forced to be put on hiatus last year. After a year off, everyone was ready to get out and have some fun and they did. Opening Ceremonies kicked off the festival with the usual flair.
The National Anthem was sung by 2019 Garrettsville Idol winner, Sara Freedson. Mayor Rick Patrick Introduced the grand Marshal, Michelle Zivoder, the main sponsor, DayStar Ford and the event was officially opened, when the mayor said, Let’s get this party started,” and so it began.
People were ready to be out and about after a year of staying home. The street was-a-hoppin as they say. It was one of the biggest crowds seen on Friday night in a long time. Lemonade, corn dogs, Italian sausage sandwiches, stromboli, funnel cakes Indian food and more could be easily be found. The rides were running and everyone was mingling around; it was great! The Friday night band, Billy Morris and the Sunset Strip, was a big hit as they played classic rock. People came early and stayed late. Many were taking advantage of the new Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) ordinance. It was PARRRRTAY TIME!
Saturday’s JAG 5K, beard, and ice cream eating contests were hits, along with the Hamburger eating contest hosted by former Cleveland Browns player Hanford Dixon. The first-time-ever beard contest drew crowds and attracted many locals sporting beards.
The Bane sisters won two of the younger age brackets of the ice cream-eating contest. For the first time ever there was a tie in one age bracket. Jack Hawkins of Newton Falls downed three burgers with all the fixings from local eateries and was declared a threepeat winner of the hamburger eating contest. This was not a contest where you could hold the condiments. If it came with lettuce, tomato, and pickles you had to eat it. They even had two ladies enter the contest; they both gave it the “old college try”, as they say.
The sky opened up and cooled everyone off. It was in the upper 80’s probably more like 90 degrees on the new asphalt that was laid last week; it was a toasty one. No one seemed to care that it was raining, they took it in stride. A few grandparents were spotted playing in the rain with their grandkids, a sight to behold. They played like no one was watching. Soon the sun returned and everyone was back at it, like it never happened. Streets filled up again, rides were moving and everyone was enjoying their time out and about.
Saturday night’s highlights were headlining band Invincible, a Pat Benatar Tribute band and, of course, the fireworks. The local band Bad Seed took the stage at 7pm and was to play until 9pm, when Invincible took over. Mother Nature had other ideas. The sky opened up again and down the rain came, hard, fast and furious. The street was like a river and everyone ducked for cover for an hour or so. The rain cut short Bad Seed and Invincible as the village has a noise ordinance, so they couldn’t complete their sets. Folks still stayed downtown even after the rain to see the fireworks. Many still lingered a bit more to hear Invincible, before calling it a day.
The grand parade went off without a hitch as well. It was shorter than usual, but it didn’t seem to bother many. Jungle Terry entertained the kids as did Flowers the clown. The Walnut Hill Cloggers, put on their dancing shoes and once again out did themselves.
Prior to Garrettsville Idol, the band Gypsy played as people started staking a claim for Idol. Garrettsville Idol was emceed by Mayor Rick Patrick and Lil John from Fox 8. They introduced the Idol contestants and announced the Idol winners. Lil John also drew the winning 50/50 ticket.
The newest Garrettsville Idols are teen, Ashley Yankello, Youth, Emilia Maynard, and the adult winner is Josh Evans. This year instead of a car raffle, they did 50/50 raffle. The winner, Sarah Wiczen went home $1430 richer. Congratulations to the winners!
The 2021 festival was great for a first time back after covid and seemed to be enjoyed by many. The event was barely in the books, the lights weren’t even off yet and the committee was already making plans for the next year. They hope to have a bigger and better festival next year.
