Rain or shine Woosterfest was a good time
Liberty and Market streets looked more like the Oktoberfest grounds in Munich than the main streets of Wooster on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 as people from throughout northeast Ohio crowded the downtown streets for the city’s annual farewell to summer celebration - Woosterfest.
The strong lineup of activities for visitors of all ages, combined with rockin’ good music and delicious food, drew large crowds to the 27th installment of the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce’s Woosterfest, despite the cold, rainy weather that persisted throughout the weekend.
According to Samira Salhani, chamber project coordinator, one of the most popular events during the two-day celebration was the reinvented Beer Stein Race.
During the single elimination race, teams of four competitors raced down an obstacle course with six beer steins filled with water to determine which team could fill a barrel the fastest.
In addition to changing the location of the race from the Chase Bank parking lot to a more central location on the square, the event organizers also added new obstacles, Salhani noted.
“It worked,” said Salhani. “We had a lot more teams this year.”
Winners of the beer stein race included: First place, Prairie Dogs (ABS Materials); second, LeRoy’s; and third, Wooster Glass.
The cornhole tournament on the first day of Woosterfest also drew large crowds of spectators, as did the annual talent show on Saturday afternoon.
Winners of the cornhole tournament included: First, Jim Park and Brandon Corwin; second, Buddy Bucher and Josh Drouhard; and third, Chris Wolf and Dominic Aiello.
Talent show winners included: Age 12 and under- Alicia Kunkler; Ages 13-17- Kiana McDuffe; Adult- Annabelle (Brian Kaser, Joe Timpona, Heath Clark and Andrew Yadon); Honorable Mention- Luke Adkins.
Throughout the two-day event there were plenty of other activities as well, including a car show. Winners were: First, Ron Kurtz (Wooster) and second, Jack Anderson (Loudonville).
To add a little unexpected fun, random visitors to Woosterfest were invited into the Money Mania Machine to see how much money they could grab in 30 seconds.
Woosterfest wouldn’t be Woosterfest without music and this year’s lineup of entertainers didn’t disappoint.
From the performers participating in the talent show to regionally acclaimed rock bands including SOBOS, DTz, Midnight Special, Aftermath and Atomic Lounge and solo artist Michael Kelsey, music was a big part of the festival, drawing visitors from throughout the area to Wooster to hear their favorite bands perform.
Vendors offered food of every description, from international cuisine to fair favorites, while dozens of artists displayed a wide variety of handcrafted items.
There was plenty for the youngest visitors to Woosterfest to do as well.
At Kinderplatz, children stopped off at the candy art station to satisfy their sweet tooth, decorated bags and jumped in giant inflatables to burn off a little energy before standing in the long line that formed around face painter Sparkles the Clown.
With so many different events, an undertaking the size of Woosterfest takes months of planning and dozens of volunteers from area businesses that are members of the chamber, who came together in committees to organize everything from the food to the entertainment under the leadership of Dick Stull.
Unfortunately, no amount of planning could control the weather.
“What can I say? Hundreds of volunteer hours, sponsorships, planning logistics with the city and we get washed out,” said Jeff Griffin, Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce president, adding, “the model remains strong but I just cannot control Mother Nature.”
“It breaks my heart, but at the end of the day, the same dynamics that make our chamber great shine through,” said Griffin. “We still had fairly decent crowds considering the weather, highlighted by the enormously successful beer stein race…which drew 22 business participants.”
“We would like to thank everyone who came out and battled the weather with us. We didn’t let the weather stop us from having a good time,” Salhani added.
For more information on the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce, log on to http://www.woosterchamber.com.
The strong lineup of activities for visitors of all ages, combined with rockin’ good music and delicious food, drew large crowds to the 27th installment of the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce’s Woosterfest, despite the cold, rainy weather that persisted throughout the weekend.
According to Samira Salhani, chamber project coordinator, one of the most popular events during the two-day celebration was the reinvented Beer Stein Race.
During the single elimination race, teams of four competitors raced down an obstacle course with six beer steins filled with water to determine which team could fill a barrel the fastest.
In addition to changing the location of the race from the Chase Bank parking lot to a more central location on the square, the event organizers also added new obstacles, Salhani noted.
“It worked,” said Salhani. “We had a lot more teams this year.”
Winners of the beer stein race included: First place, Prairie Dogs (ABS Materials); second, LeRoy’s; and third, Wooster Glass.
The cornhole tournament on the first day of Woosterfest also drew large crowds of spectators, as did the annual talent show on Saturday afternoon.
Winners of the cornhole tournament included: First, Jim Park and Brandon Corwin; second, Buddy Bucher and Josh Drouhard; and third, Chris Wolf and Dominic Aiello.
Talent show winners included: Age 12 and under- Alicia Kunkler; Ages 13-17- Kiana McDuffe; Adult- Annabelle (Brian Kaser, Joe Timpona, Heath Clark and Andrew Yadon); Honorable Mention- Luke Adkins.
Throughout the two-day event there were plenty of other activities as well, including a car show. Winners were: First, Ron Kurtz (Wooster) and second, Jack Anderson (Loudonville).
To add a little unexpected fun, random visitors to Woosterfest were invited into the Money Mania Machine to see how much money they could grab in 30 seconds.
Woosterfest wouldn’t be Woosterfest without music and this year’s lineup of entertainers didn’t disappoint.
From the performers participating in the talent show to regionally acclaimed rock bands including SOBOS, DTz, Midnight Special, Aftermath and Atomic Lounge and solo artist Michael Kelsey, music was a big part of the festival, drawing visitors from throughout the area to Wooster to hear their favorite bands perform.
Vendors offered food of every description, from international cuisine to fair favorites, while dozens of artists displayed a wide variety of handcrafted items.
There was plenty for the youngest visitors to Woosterfest to do as well.
At Kinderplatz, children stopped off at the candy art station to satisfy their sweet tooth, decorated bags and jumped in giant inflatables to burn off a little energy before standing in the long line that formed around face painter Sparkles the Clown.
With so many different events, an undertaking the size of Woosterfest takes months of planning and dozens of volunteers from area businesses that are members of the chamber, who came together in committees to organize everything from the food to the entertainment under the leadership of Dick Stull.
Unfortunately, no amount of planning could control the weather.
“What can I say? Hundreds of volunteer hours, sponsorships, planning logistics with the city and we get washed out,” said Jeff Griffin, Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce president, adding, “the model remains strong but I just cannot control Mother Nature.”
“It breaks my heart, but at the end of the day, the same dynamics that make our chamber great shine through,” said Griffin. “We still had fairly decent crowds considering the weather, highlighted by the enormously successful beer stein race…which drew 22 business participants.”
“We would like to thank everyone who came out and battled the weather with us. We didn’t let the weather stop us from having a good time,” Salhani added.
For more information on the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce, log on to http://www.woosterchamber.com.
Published: October 5, 2011
