Families partying it up in Niles

Families brought their kids out for food and fun.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NILES -- The Fourth of July festivities were winding down Tuesday after a weekend of festivals, parades and fireworks, but die-hards in Niles were still partying.
Street Fest, which began Friday and ended Tuesday, was open from 6 p.m. to midnight, despite rainy, humid weather.
Wicked weather later on in the evening caused the fireworks display to be canceled, however. There was no word Tuesday night on a rain check.
The celebration on State Street featured games, food and rides. Though there weren't too many people there at the start, the crowd picked up later.
Crowds had been good all weekend, said Ray Novotny, manager of the Niles SCOPE Senior Center across the parking lot. The center was getting ready for a bingo game, and Ray and his wife, Eileen, who live in Canfield, were hanging out there.
"The festival has been good and vendors are happy," he said. "They've been doing better [each night]."
Bill Sams, of Sams Amusements of Ohio, agreed the crowds were good. Sams provided the rides, as it does for other area festivals, including the Italian Festival in Warren.
Lots of customers
Outside, food vendor Luigi Lemmo of Campbell also said business was good. He and his wife, Pam, along with two daughters and a granddaughter, were cooking cavatelli and steak and sausage sandwiches in a trailer that, he agreed, wasn't a pleasant place to work in the summer heat.
How do vendors keep cool in those little trailers with the grills going all the time?
"You don't," he said, but he always does well at the festival. He figures he's the oldest vendor there, having been with it since it opened 20 years ago in Waddell Park.
As for the youngest festivalgoers, not all of them were entirely sure what the Fourth of July fuss was all about.
Devin Hall, 5, and his brother Nick, 4, looked puzzled when asked to contemplate what the day means. America's birthday? They frowned. They said nothing.
But they perked up when their mother and father, Tami Nicholas and Jermaine Hall of Warren, mentioned the train ride. Ice cream sounded like a pretty good idea, too, though they couldn't agree on which flavor was best.
Fun for kids
Families who brought their children to the festival looked forward to the food and rides, and of course, the fireworks, which had been scheduled for 10:30 p.m.
Angel Ciccarelli, 5, of Austintown, there with her mom, Tiffany, was happy to have won a prize playing darts and balloons.
For Sarah Woodford, 4, there with parents Richard and Amy of North Jackson, the best part of the festival was the duck pond, where she picked her prize -- a bright orange hairpiece.
And down at one of the giant slides, Issac Ress, 9, of East Palestine watched as his older brother, Vincent, ran the slide for Sams. He was looking forward to rides and fireworks.
His young cousin, Bobbie Lees of Warren, summed up the meaning of the day.
"We get to have fun and watch the fireworks," she said. It's America's birthday. I celebrate America's birthday."
She'd like to top off her celebration with french fries, a hot dog and a funnel cake.