Crowd gathers for Last Stop Willoughby

The city celebrated another year of community and history during its Last Stop Willoughby Festival.

In early 1960, watchers of “The Twilight Zone” took “A Stop at Willoughby”, as Rod Serling told the story of a town rumored to be based on the one in Northeast Ohio.

On Aug. 24, the episode’s namesake celebrated another year of community and history during the Last Stop Willoughby Festival. The theme of this year’s event was “free, family, fun”.

The festival was held in the area of downtown Willoughby, where a vendors, kids’ activities, model trains, food trucks and more took place throughout the day. The daylong event began at 8 a.m. with the Willoughby Outdoor Market in front of city hall. An afternoon parade made its way down Euclid Avenue and Erie Street, featuring the city of Willoughby, the Willoughby Fire Department, local organizations and politicians, as well as a convoy of about 92 different Jeeps. Greg Patt, president of the Heart of Willoughby, said that there would be cash prizes for the best floats at $300, $200 and $100, as well as the best-decorated bicycles at $75, $50 and $25

The Willoughby Corn Roast also began again this year, offering roasted corn-on-the-cob for attendees following the parade. It was scheduled to run until 6 p.m.

“We’re real pleased so far, we’ve had a really good turnout,” Mayor Robert Fiala said during the roast.

“It’s all volunteer,” he added, mentioning that the roaster used for cooking the corn was on loan from Michael Stefan, the owner of an eponymous salon in downtown Willoughby.

Although the festival is open to all, Patt mentioned that a goal was to give it a community focus and that this year’s theme was a reflection of that.

“We’re just trying to make it so that it’s a ‘free, family, fun’ event for the people of Willoughby,” he said in a News-Herald article.

Lolly the Trolley was also featured at the parade and festival. Free rides were offered throughout the day, which took visitors on a historic tour of Willoughby. Heart of Willoughby member Kathie Pinkerman mentioned that the tours feature different trolley conductors with different history stories. During the day, ongoing screenings of “A Stop at Willoughby” took place inside the Willoughby Public Library. Beginning around 10 a.m., the Willoughby Fire Department held an open house at its 37000 Euclid Avenue station to celebrate the department’s 125th anniversary.

Last Stop Willoughby is sponsored in part by the Heart of Willoughby and the City of Willoughby.

TYLER RIGG — THE NEWS-HERALD Members of the Greater Lake County Young Marines color guard march during the Last Stop Willoughby parade on Aug. 24.

TYLER RIGG —THE NEWS-HERALD Three-year-old Desmond Webb of Willoughby plays with a model train in Wes Point Park on Aug. 24 at the Last Stop Willoughby Festival.