By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
Galion is getting in on the Friday celebration action this summer with a monthly downtown event dubbed Third Friday.
Taking place in Uptowne Galion, the Third Friday events are a way to help the local businesses gain more exposure and have a festive atmosphere.
The Third Friday events begin this coming Friday, May 19, and will be held on each third Friday through August with a different theme each time.
Miranda Jones, Member Engagement Director of the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the theme for May.
“This first Third Friday we are doing an end of the school year celebration. So, every half hour at the gazebo we have area schools, or people who are from the area, doing little 10 or 15 minute performances. So 4:30 will kick off with the Galion Primary School, the Galion Community Theatre will do a few songs of their upcoming performance of Beauty and the Beast. Then six o’clock is the St. Joe’s Kids and at 6:30 is the Y’s preschoolers.”
Below is a map of the shops, food specials, and entertainment that will be available at the May 19 Third Friday event.
June’s theme will be Safety Services. During the June Third Friday event the Galion Fire Department will do a simulation rescue on the roof of the Central Hotel with their new aerial fire truck.
July will be a celebration of America’s pastime, baseball, with the Galion Graders, Little League and tee-ball teams, and high school baseball teams taking center stage.
Bookending with the celebration of schools, the final Third Friday will be held in August and will be a back to school bash complete with businesses competing in a bus filling contest.
With the Third Friday events taking place in Galion, Harding Way West will remain open to traffic, however North Market Street will close in order to house various vendors. Jones noted that there are no food vendors on the street at the Third Friday events, but businesses selling food are doing a food tour of Galion. For each venue a visitor visits they get a punch in their food tour card and when it is filled will receive a gift card to one of the businesses.