Helping hands

 68th Annual Plymouth Fall Festival to begin next week

    The 68 Annual Plymouth Fall Festival will fill the downtown streets with more than 85,000 visitors next weekend, as crowds enjoy free stage entertainment, Bingo, a car show and a craft show on the streets. In addition, the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast is set for Saturday morning, along with the pet show which includes both a parade and a dog training lesson this year.

    The Sept. 6, .7 and 8 festival in Plymouth is an effort to support all local civic and charity groups in the community. Every exhibitor, booth or participant must be there and registered to support a civic or school group.
    “It’s the one time of year every group comes together and works together to help everyone,” said Festival President Andrea Gerber. She noted that the festival had the best year ever last year with increased participation at the carnival and at the booths and shows. “We’re hoping to match that this year,” she said. “We just need good weather.”
    “There really is a close-knit core group of prominent people, volunteers, public officials, business leaders and members of service clubs that keep this festival going,” Gerber said. She added that many civic leaders and officials can be found quietly volunteering at various jobs throughout the festival events. “You never know who you might see,” she added.
    The Plymouth Canton Vietnam Veterans will be grilling spareribs Friday afternoon and the Plymouth-Canton Little League sponsors the popular Bingo event on Friday evening. On Saturday, the morning Rotary Club members serve their renowned Spaghetti Dinner and of course, the Rotary Club Chicken Barbeque takes over Kellogg Park most of the day on Sunday.
    This year, according to Barbeque President Eric Joy, the club will prepare more than 8,500 chicken dinners, grilled on the huge charcoal pits the club members construct the night before in the parking lot behind The Gathering on Penn Avenue.

    To accomplish the effort, more than 700 volunteers man the pits which are lit as early at 7 a.m. When the coals are “just right” the seasoned chickens are on the grills until perfect, then boxed along with chips, an ear of corn, a bottle of water, a roll and butter and a cookie. The menu hasn’t changed for many years, and crowds continue to fill the park all afternoon picnicking, although the drive-through take out location at West Middle School is almost as popular, Joy said.
    The Party Tent behind E.G. Nick’s restaurant on Forest Avenue is the site of both the Rotary Spaghetti Dinner and the Vietnam Veterans barbeque spareribs. After those event, the popular tent hosts live music from popular bands along with beer and wine service. In addition, Chef Frank Agostini from the restaurant, advises both groups and, as a long-time Rotary Club member, helps oversee the chicken barbeque.
    “We started doing the tent as a way to add something to the festival, to have fun. It has now grown to add the veterans and the Rotary spaghetti. We donate the space to the groups as a way to give back to the community,” Agostini said. “We do it because it is fun, everybody has a great time and it’s a way to help out so many people,” Agostini said.
    His sentiments were echoed by James Gietzen of JAG entertainment who produces the event and works with the charity groups to help plan the event. “This is one of my favorites,” Gietzen said. “It really is an event that helps the entire community.”

A complete guide to the Plymouth Fall Festival can be found at Associatednewspapers.net.