Community Corner
Richfield Penn Fest Plans Move Ahead
Penn Central of Richfield seeks volunteers, sponsorship in anticipation of the summer event.
With summer just around the corner, business owners and residents who make up the organization known as Penn Central of Richfield discussed plans for its fourth annual Penn Fest event Thursday night.
Penn Central of Richfield is an organization that oversees the beautification and promotion of the area surrounding Penn Avenue and 66th streets in addition to promoting future commercial redevelopment.
This year's Penn Fest begins at noon Aug. 14 at and association member Tom Rublein said the festival is need of participation; both in the form of business sponsorship and volunteering.
Described as an informal, "grassroots" event, Penn Fest is intended to celebrate the people and places that populate Richfield's Penn Avenue, providing a variety of business-sponsored activity including a classic car show at Lerum Automotive, face painting, free root beer floats from Lund's and other forms of fun.
Rublein said the whole idea of Penn Fest is to get people to walk along the thoroughfare and visit businesses they have not ordinarily visited. In addition, he said area businesses often hold promotions during Penn Fest to attract commerce.
"The bowling alley had specials on bowling [in the past]," Rublein said. "Even businesses that are not ordinarily open on a Sunday have opened up the frame shop, for instance. Mother Duck brings in one of the Moon Walk houses."
He said merchants will even put "66" somewhere in its special prices in honor of 66th Street, which makes up part of the commercial corridor overseen by Penn Central of Richfield.
Penn Central of Richfield member Gordon Hanson said that since the festival is in its fourth year, the organization is trying to build on past momentum.
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"A lot of the businesses in the past have seen the success of it so a lot more businesses come on board each year," he said.
In addition, Hanson said the event is a good community building exercise.
"The first year I heard a lot of people saying we really needed something like this," Hanson said.
The next meeting will be June 16. Richfield Patch will continue to bring details to readers as the organization moves farther ahead with Penn Fest plans.