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Vendors, crowds flock to Oktoberfestival
By Sean Barron
BOARDMAN
Countless bottles of wine and beer are filled with light varieties, but Apryle Yekel and Kenny Smith have filled some bottles with lights.
“We use liquor and wine bottles, clean them and turn them into art,” said Yekel, who, along with Smith, runs Bottles of Light, a Boardman business the two started less than a year ago.
Yekel and Smith have switched dozens of bottles with well-known labels such as Jack Daniels, Smirnoff and Jose Cuervo from common alcoholic beverages into lamps, most of which contain energy-efficient bulbs. Others were plug-in varieties, but all shared Yekel and Smith’s artistic touches and sold for $10 to $35 apiece.
They also were among the attractions that made up the 38th annual Rotary Club of Boardman’s Oktoberfestival gathering in Boardman Park.
The eight-hour family-friendly event offered more than 160 craft and food vendors, as well as plenty of entertainment and a first-time German beer-tasting gathering.
Proceeds support the Rotary Club’s support systems and causes, including a foundation set up to fight polio and efforts to bring clean water to remote areas of Africa and elsewhere, noted Joshua Aikens, an event co-chairman.
Also, donations will be made to numerous Mahoning Valley entities such as the Boardman Local School District, Youngstown Hearing & Speech Center, Easter Seals, the Beatitude House, Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning County and the Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown, Aikens added.
Yekel explained that she collects from area taverns and bars bottles that otherwise would have been thrown away. Then she and Smith let their creative impulses take over, said Yekel, who recalled being influenced by having seen a lamp that was a Jack Daniels bottle.
“I showed it to friends and they said, ‘Could you make one for me?’” she added.
Perfect weather was on tap for those who bought merchandise that included the usual wooden figurines and fixtures, along with colorful scarves, ball caps, bracelets and jewelry, scented soaps and foods such as gourmet-dipped apples, popcorn and handmade frozen fruit bars.
Other products for sale included bright pottery dishware, wind chimes, sports memorabilia, tie-dyed shirts, dolls and related accessories, hand-woven alpaca materials, costume jewelry, potholders and knit caps. Many people also found pleasing a variety of aromatic candles, courtesy of Susan Hertel and Carrie Lawton.
“It’s nice that our clients get to see everything from start to finish. They’re excellent employees who love coming to work,” Hertel said, referring to the 25 to 30 people with special needs who are in the Employment Development workshop, which is affiliated with Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
Hertel, an assistant production manager with the Lisbon-based Beaver Creek Candle Co., said the clients produce the candles and perform duties such as cleaning and labeling the jars, pouring paraffin wax, adding the wicks and stocking the items. In addition to receiving paychecks, they take great pride in their work, she continued.
Some attendees enjoyed watching Michele Rober of Boardman break the process of making glass-blown beads into small steps.
Rober, a senior who’s in Kent State University at Salem ’s radiation-therapy program, used a small torch to slowly melt and bend colored glass, then convert the ends into small beads.
The fest also offered free blood-pressure screenings, nervous-system assessments, stress evaluations and pressure-point massages.
The Boardman High School Marching Band provided much of the entertainment. Additional performances were from Carolyn Longo, a Youngstown-area guitarist, singer, songwriter and artist who also brought several of her water-color prints.