More bang for your buck at Canfield Lions Club festival

The annual fireworks festival combined fun and fund raising.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Thursday's Canfield Lions Club fireworks festival at the fairgrounds was a chance for families to enjoy affordable fun and contribute to worthwhile causes.
"It's a good cause,'' Sandy Gillespie of Sebring said of the event. A first-time visitor to the event, Gillespie arrived early with a group of nine people in two cars, including five children, and planned to stay for the fireworks.
Her daughter, Teresa, 8, said she enjoyed taking a pony ride as soon as the group arrived and planned to ascend the climbing wall.
Admission was $10 per car, and proceeds go to Lions Club causes, including those related to assisting blind people, feeding needy people and providing local scholarships.
"This is one of our biggest fund-raisers of the year, and it goes to serve all kinds of needy people," said Andy Skrobola, club treasurer. The club was collecting used eyeglasses and hearing aids at the gate for people in need.
The festival, which opened at 4 p.m. and concluded with a fireworks display by Phantom Fireworks of Youngstown, is now in its ninth year. It offered a petting zoo, food concessionaires, a disc jockey and an Elvis impersonator.
A model railroad display under the grandstand, sponsored by the Western Reserve Modular Railroad Club, offered an attraction sheltered from the intense sun.
"It's an old hobby that I believe is coming back," said John Morey of Boardman, railroad club secretary.
Additional organizations
Besides the Lions Club causes, participants also supported other local nonprofit organizations.
Second Chance Animal Rescue, which has rescued more than 850 cats in the past three years and has cats available for adoption at the Boardman PetsMart, raised funds by selling pet supplies.
Boy Scout Troop 25, which is based at the Canfield United Methodist Church, sold U.S. and Ohio flags as a fund-raiser for camping trips.
On Angels Wings Riding Center, which offers therapeutic horseback riding opportunities for people with disabilities, raised money by selling baked goods. The organization will soon launch a $1 million fund-raising campaign to build a Canfield stable, said Karen Kanotz, the organization's executive director.
Sponsors were Farmers National Bank, Butler Wick & amp; Co., WFMJ-TV, the Canfield Rotary Club, Town Crier, WSOM-AM 600, DiRusso's Real Italian Sausage, Adamas Jewelry and Gifts and Phantom Fireworks.
The event was a prelude to today's parade, which will leave the fairgrounds at 10 a.m. for the Village Green, where post-parade entertainment is scheduled.