Organized by the City of Powell’s government on Oct. 28 at Village Green Park, the Fall Festival was an amazing event for the people of Powell.
This year’s Fall Festival was the first of its kind for the city. From noon to 10 p.m., the Fall Festival featured various events such as food trucks, the Kids Zone and live music. Admission into the event was donating to People In Need, an organization the city partnered with. Other than PIN (People In Need), the event also partnered with the Ohio Wexner Medical Center, Newman Roofing LLC, Jill Patricia King and Diamond Cellar.
“The Fall Festival and Food Drive provided another opportunity for the community to come together while supporting People In Need, Inc,” said Mallory Sribanditmongkol, the city’s strategic communications officer.
With all these partnerships and events, the festival was a success. The food trucks ranged from popcorn, BBQ, lemonade, coffee, and Mexican street food. Families could get tasty food without leaving the park due to nearby food vendors, resulting in visitors having a great experience. Vincenzo Tran, a student volunteer at the festival, said, “Something I enjoyed at the festival was the food trucks because, during my break from volunteering at the Kids Zone, I could walk over to the food trucks and get some tasty food. Because the festival had all these food vendors, things were convenient.”
Lucas Colegrove, another volunteer and member of Powell Youth Council, added, “I liked the food vendors because they offered a great variety of options. The diversity of the food options ensured every visitor had something to get, which I think really contributed to the popularity.”
Additionally, the Kids Zone was a huge hit with families, especially those with younger kids. In the zone, there were many inflatable stations for children. For example, there were bounce houses, a racing inflatable obstacle course, and sport-related inflatables. In addition, there were two high strikers for kids to test their strength. Tarun Batchu, another volunteer and member of Powell Youth Council, said, “Overall, families and their kids enjoyed the stations. You could really tell that the stations were successful by how happy visitors were.”
Sribanditmongko added, “In regards to activities, the Kids Zone was extremely popular with families.”
Lastly, another crucial component of the event’s success was live music. The event featured the bands North to Nashville, Alt95 Cleveland, and the Dan Thompson Band. During the event, families of visitors sat on the grassy field in front of the park’s stage and listened to the artists perform with excitement. In addition, the live music provided an excellent background for the event and added to the festival.
The first Fall Festival was a success as PIN received 567 pounds of food and $479 in cash donations, and the citizens of Powell had fun.
This article was written by William Wang and Nate Kirkpatrick, Olentangy Liberty High School students who are members of Powell Youth Council, a 15-student-governed nonprofit organization recognized and partnered with the Powell government that Wang created in March of 2022. Powell Youth Council’s purpose is to give a voice and power to the youth of Powell in local decisions and projects, show how local leaders create projects and decisions, and motivate the youth to help their community.
