ORWELL – The Grand Valley Area Chamber of Commerce held its next-to-last meeting on Friday, July 17, to make last-minute arrangements for the upcoming summer festival in Orwell.
The Grand Valley Summer Festival is a popular community event returning for its second year and hosted by the chamber. It will be held at Gen. Chaffee Memorial Park on Saturday, July 25, and will feature bounce houses, food trucks, craft and vendor booths, face painting and local raffles.
After receiving mostly positive feedback from festivalgoers at last summer’s inaugural event, Grand Valley Area Chamber of Commerce President Jackie Foote said she had decided to try to make a few changes, most notably moving the time to 2-8 p.m., to avoid conflicting with the Midway Chevrolet annual car show, which will run from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. the same day.
The car show, which will be at 320 E. Main St. in Orwell, will feature the Chevrolet Street Team, a 50/50 raffle and Chinese auction, awards for top 20 and other special categories and a Pinewood Derby track for Scouting Troop 72.
The car show will also offer free soda and hot dogs for visitors.
There will be a craft and vendor show at the park, hosted by Don Burt’s Tree Service, featuring over 30 vendors. They will also be donating items for the festival raffle. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5 – just look for the pink canopy in the front corner.
Tina’s Treasures & Thrift, 11 N. Maple St., will be giving off holiday vibes with its Christmas in July celebration.
There will also be bounce houses for the kids. A $10 wristband gives them an all-day pass. Tickets can also be bought for $1 each.
The beer tent, sponsored by DJ’s Dugout, will offer adult festivalgoers $3 Miller Light, Bud Light and Coors Light; $3.50 Michelob Ultra and Sun Cruisers for $4.50.
Up in the Hair, 29 E. Main St., will get your mane festival ready, offering braiding, fairy hair and tinsel.
Conversation Station will be there as well, offering free kids’ games and family-friendly prices on popcorn, ice cream and cotton candy.
Kids can also enjoy the petting zoo, sponsored by Valley View Farm, with rumors of a unicorn coming to visit. Adults can also peruse farm-fresh produce.
Thunder Creek, a local classic country, oldies and southern rock band based out of Geneva, will take the stage as the festival’s musical entertainment from 2-4 p.m. as well.
Then there are the food trucks.
First up is Some Mexican Lady, a local food truck of Windsor Township specializing in traditional street food like tacos, as well as Latin-American sweet treats, shaved ice, snow cones and authentic aguas frescas.
10:31 Catering will be bringing delicious pulled pork, mac and cheese and iced coffees and frappes.
Cousins Maine Lobster will be at Chaffee Park and will be offering classic lobster rolls, shrimp or lobster tacos, a lobster grilled cheese sandwich, lobster tots and seafood bisque or chowder.
The Los Venados food truck will be coming all the way from Mantua and offering traditional favorites like tacos, quesadillas, burritos and bowls.
Bubbly B’s Dirty Sodas specializes in crafting “dirty sodas,” fizzy, customizable mocktails made by mixing standard sodas or energy drinks with flavored syrups, fruit purées and rich cream.
Finally, Eats ‘n Treats Concessions will be there, too, with smoked Polish sausage sandwiches, Philly cheesesteaks, sandwiches, gyros, walking tacos and cold drinks on offer.
Bog Dog Bounce will be bringing their locally famous children’s entertainment again this year, sponsored by Reels’ Auto. Coach Justin Turk will have teams for bounce house supervision.
Dresnik Disposal has agreed to donate its services for the festival and King’s Sanitary will be donating one post-a-potty for the festival. Orwell Village is sponsoring a handicap-accessible restroom. Both will be located across from the park in the old water tower parking lot near the road.
Local Cub Scouts will be parking cars in the field, which will be sectioned off with caution tape. Organizers plan to ask St. Mary’s Church to use their parking lot as well.
Conversation Station will also be at Summer Fest, selling cotton candy, ice cream cups and popcorn, as well as hosting games in the field and hosting a Chinese auction.
The Orwell Gun Club will be setting up a nerf shooting gallery game and will be offering a meat raffle.
In live animals, Valley View Farm is hosting a petting zoo set in the park and butterfly releases during the festival and the Ashtabula Animal Protective League will set up in Chaffee Park with a booth and some animals.
