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Celebrating Poland
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
POLAND
Many people are gearing up to celebrate the Fourth of July, but residents of Poland celebrated their own village first.
The two-day Celebrate Poland event offered a variety of free activities starting Friday.
Initially, Celebrate Poland consisted of fireworks and a parade, said Poland Township Trustee Bob Lidle, who is vice president of the Celebrate Poland committee. Eight years later, it includes food, entertainment, vendors, contests and more.
“It keeps on getting bigger and better,” said Lidle. “And the thing that makes it bigger and better is that we’re getting more and more participation from community groups.”
A sidewalk-chalk art contest was one of the first events Saturday.
Jordan Downie, 15, of Poland, participated in the contest for the third time.
“I just like art,” she said.
This year, she filled an entire sidewalk square near village hall with a scene from the Disney movie, “Up.” She used many colors of sidewalk chalk to draw a huge bunch of balloons that lifted a house into the sky.
Previously, Downie has drawn pictures of Mickey Mouse and Simba from the “Lion King” for the annual chalk-drawing contest. It takes her a little over three hours to complete a drawing.
“I won the last two years in my category,” she said.
There was more in the area around village hall than sidewalk art.
Vendors sold a variety of items including jewelry, tea, artwork, clothes and purses. In the parking lot near the village hall, food vendors offered elephant ears, lemonade, apple dumplings and more.
Shanna Baer and her stepdaughter, Brianna Baer, 9, both of Poland, attended for the first time.
“It’s a fun way to get the family out and to see all the crafts and animals” in the petting zoo, said Shanna. “It’s really fun.”
Brianna drew the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants for the sidewalk- chalk contest. She also tried feeding the animals; the baby ducks weren’t interested in the food she offered, however.
“They’re cute, though,” Shanna said.
They stopped first for lunch at Kravitz Deli in the Poland branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning Valley.
Members of Poland Village Business Association teamed up to offer free items at their businesses during the event.
Celebrate Poland offers people the chance to participate, not just be entertained, noted committee member Lidle.
Other activities offered included a singing contest, karaoke, corn hole and a fun run. The event concluded with a 27-minute fireworks show set to music.