St. Clairsville’s Community Day and Fourth of July celebration is only days away.
Recreation Director Eric Gay and his staff have been planning it since January, ensuring all Is are dotted, and all Ts crossed.
All the prep work should allow Gay to coast to the finish line for Saturday’s celebration, which gets underway at 4 p.m. at the amphitheater behind the rec center.
Air quality thanks to the Canadian wildfires, however, has given the director one-last potentiality to monitor.
“Right now, it’s still a go but we are monitoring it,” Gay said Wednesday as the Ohio Valley finally experienced its first taste of poor air quality as a direct result of those wildfires. “It’s a shame what’s going on but hopefully it clears up. We were at football practice (Wednesday morning) and were talking about it. Hopefully, it moves out of here in time, but it is a concern of mine and a lot of the residents.”
Last year’s Community Days festival saw more than 4,500 people enjoy an evening of music, food, fun, and most importantly—fireworks.
That’s why Gay began prepping in January, to ensure another year of the event went off without a hitch. Planning an event takes work. But planning one during a holiday weekend full of similar events around the Ohio Valley takes even more.
“There’s just a lot of pieces that go into an event this big, especially for such a busy time of the year,” Gay admitted. “Even lining up the inflatables is something you have to do early. Finding a band to book on a Saturday in the summer, you have to book early; same with the food trucks.”
In picking a day, Gay also knows to steer clear of the Ohio Valley’s two biggest Fourth of July events—Wheeling’s official fireworks, always set for July 4, and Oglebay’s which traditionally are on July 3.
While St. Clairsville and surrounding residents will make up a large crowd of attendees Saturday, Gay wants people from all over the Ohio Valley to attend, so choosing a conflicting date with some of the other more well-attended events was not an option.
“We encourage people from all over the Valley to come,” Gay said. “We had a great display last year and the same company is doing it again this year. It’s a chaotic day, but I love it and I’m excited that it’s finally here.”
Plenty to Do
The festival grounds open at 4 p.m. with plenty to do for all in attendance.
For the younger set, there will be inflatables, as well as face painting and crafts, all free of charge. Games and entertainment will be aplenty.
But games aren’t limited to just children, as Mike Wheeler from Ohio Valley Airsoft will also be set up with his airsoft guns.
Four food trucks will be parked to provide dining options for attendees, including Chew Chew Train LLC out of Cadiz, Desparado Dogs, and Izzy’s Smash Burgers. In addition, Jack’s Snacks frozen treats truck, along with Kirk’s Homemade Ice Cream, will be available.
Also like last year’s event, children will receive free snow cones.
Musical entertainment begins at 5:30 p.m. with Taylor Jo Porter and the Copper Creek Band playing until around 7:15. They will be followed by Pittsburgh-based band Jukebox, playing from 8 until 9:45 when the fireworks are set to begin.
“There are a lot of kid-friendly events and free things to do, but we’ll also have alcohol there for the adults,” Gay said. “Hightower Brewing out of Rayland will be set up for any adult that wants a drink.
“My biggest thing when I took this job is I wanted to offer something that appealed to everybody. We have stuff for the kids, music for the kids and adults, food, and drinks. It should be a good time.”
The event couldn’t take place without the continued assistance of Unified Bank and Riesbeck’s Food Markets, both in St. Clairsville. The two come through repeatedly for the rec center and Gay was quick to point out how invaluable both businesses are to the city.
“We cannot thank them enough,” Gay said. “They are the ones that sponsor this entire event and, between the two of them, they probably cover about 90 percent of the costs.”
