Community gets ready for Fall Festival

Event slated for Sept. 7 will focus on enhancing activities for children during day, adults at night

After a one-year hiatus the Perry Fall Festival is slated to return Sept. 7 at Lee Lydic Park.

Perry is about to rejoin the lineup of communities that sponsor an outdoor celebration to mark the arrival of fall.

After a one-year hiatus, the Perry Fall Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sept. 7, at Lee Lydic Park on Call Road in Perry Village.

The annual event was canceled last year because its timing coincided with a change in leadership within the Perry Area Joint Recreational District, which sponsors the festival.

With a new director and assistant director beginning duties during the summer of 2018, the Joint Recreation District Board decided to appoint a steering committee to consider fresh ideas for the Fall Festival when it resumed in 2019. Over the past year, that panel has added a few new twists that parted with tradition from previous festivals.

One of the most notable changes is in the duration of the festival. Previously held over the course of two days — a Saturday and Sunday — this year’s event will be a one-day affair.

The committee also decided to develop a festival schedule that would focus on activities for children during the day and adults at night.

Daytime festival highlights targeted for kids will include a petting zoo, inflatables, pony rides and hayrides from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to a schedule posted on the Perry Area Joint Recreation District website. Face painting is slated to start at 2 p.m., while Mr. CJ will present a magic show at 3 p.m. and create balloon art at 4.

Children ages 17 and under also can compete in a fish-a-thon that begins in the park at 9 a.m. Fish-athon awards will be presented during the festival at noon.

Other Fall Festival attractions include a nursery stock sale; vendors and food concessions; a Chinese auction, which concludes with a drawing at 5 p.m.; police dog demonstrations at 11:30 a.m. and noon; a 1 p.m. performance by the Perry High School Marching Band; and instrumental rock by Zona at 4:30 p.m.

When the festival’s daytime activities conclude at 5 p.m., the event’s focus will shift to an outdoor reverse raffle with a main board grand prize of $2,000. Tickets for the 6 p.m. raffle are $50 each and include one main board ticket, a catered dinner and two drinks.

For information on purchasing tickets, call Michelle Woltman at 440-2595140. In the event of inclement weather, the reverse raffle would be rescheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Perry Community Center on Perry Park Road in Perry Township.

Leading up to the festival, the steering committee in charge of the event issued an appeal for volunteers to help carry out and oversee a wide assortment of activities.

Devin DiSantis, a steering committee member who also serves on Village Council, spearheaded the drive to recruit helpers.

“We have 10 volunteers from the community and we are expecting another 10 to 15 from Perry High School’s PSL (Perry Service Learning) class,” he said.

Phil Cassella, a colleague of DiSantis on Village Council and the steering committee, said he was pleased with the number of volunteers who decided to participate.

“I think we’re going to be in good shape,” he said.

Cassella added that a meeting will be held on Sept. 5 to match up volunteers with their assignments.

This year’s festival is sponsored by Loreto Development Co., the Lake County Visitors Bureau, Xpress Printing, Ryan Homes, Kline Nautical Services, Pollutro Rossley Insurance, Lewis Land Professionals, Amos Insurance and Moving Ahead Services.

Spectator admission to the Perry Fall Festival is free of charge. All money raised through the various festival activities will benefit the Perry Area Joint Recreation District’s youth and senior community programs. The district serves Perry Village, Perry Township, North Perry Village and Perry Schools.