Slide the City to raise funds for Rich Center

By Denise Dick | April 10, 2015 at 12:02a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

You’ve likely driven and maybe even walked along Market Street, but this summer, you’ll have the chance to slip and slide into downtown.

At Slide the City on June 27, more than 1,000 feet of Market Street near the Front Street intersection will be transformed into a giant inflatable water slide. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Rich Center for Autism.

“One of our parents brought the idea to me,” said Bergen Giordani, the Rich Center’s coordinator of special events.

That parent is Sylvia Solis of Austintown, whose daughter is enrolled at the center.

She reached out to Slide the City and to Michael McGiffin, the city’s coordinator of downtown events and special projects, to arrange the event.

“We thought it sounded like a whole lot of fun,” Giordani said. “Who doesn’t like a giant water slide, right?”

Early registration begins at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The cost for early registration is $30, and the price tag increases to $35 for regular registration and $40 for those who register late. Information is available at http://www.slidethecity.com/events/youngstown/.

Participants ride inflatables down a padded vinyl slide. Music, food and local vendors are part of the festivities.

“This could be the best location in the country for our slide,” Meredith Dalenburg, Slide the City event director, said in a news release. “We can’t wait to bring our party to Youngstown.”

Giordani said she and McGiffin drove around the city, scouting locations for Slide the City.

The company requires a certain grade and certain length of the hill.

“The Market Street Bridge met those conditions,” she said.

The Rich Center is always looking for ways to partner with the city, Giordani said.

“Community engagement is always huge,” she said. “As a small nonprofit, we function on donations and grants. We’re always looking for new and exciting fundraisers.”