By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Floyd Craft has been doing business in downtown Bowling Green for 45 years, and he has never seen anything like this.
Standing outside Ben’s, the proprietor looked at streets that were packed with BGSU students. It was early evening, and not late night when some students typically flock to the bars.
No, the students had been attracted to the downtown by Rally BG on Main.
The day-long event was the collective brainchild of Mayor Mike Aspacher and Bowling Green State University President Rodney Rogers.
And Craft said he was grateful that they made the rally happen. These are potential customers in the streets. Many, “tons,’ he said, had walked through Ben’s and Ace Hardware, both of which he owns, and other shops downtown.
Given how quickly the event was organized, Craft said, he didn’t know what to expect. “It turned out to be really, really great. …
Kiya Taylor-Magee, a sophomore from Toledo, agreed. “It is more than I expected it to be.”
Aspacher said the idea for the event was conceived when he and Rogers were discussing ways the city and university would better cooperate and build stronger campus-community relationships.
From there both institutions took charge and marshalled their forces.
Aspacher said they shared the cost of staging the event (he couldn’t recall the figure off hand as he stood in the middle of the festivities). The rally featured a variety of activities, including a zipline down North Main Street. The activities were aimed not just at university students but children as well. It began with a dinosaur themed story hour outside the Wood County Library and dance performances by The Beat and Julie’s Dance Studio.
It included appearances by the Falcon Marching Band, the dance team, and cheerleaders. Student athletes were out in force, clad in matching t-shirts.
Dance students were out tap dancing on the street.
“It’s been a tough 15 months,” Rogers acknowledged in his remarks to the crowd. “We continue to find a way forward.”
“This feels like pre-COVID,” said Emma Bahnsen. The year working under pandemic restrictions with many classes virtual and campus life stymied was “terrible,” the BG High graduate said.
Garrett Graybill, a sophomore, and Alex Wood, a first year student, had come downtown for the rally to get outside and escape the stuffy confines of Kohl Hall, which lacks air conditioning.
They made some personalized street signs and were waiting for their turn on the zipline, undeterred by witnessing the way riders were getting bounced at the end of the run.
This, Graybill said, would be the best part of the rally.
Wood said he was enjoying his time so far at BGSU – he’s even learned to skate. And the rally was another plus.
Though Graybill was on campus last year, he didn’t get to explore downtown much since so much was closed. The rally opened his eyes a bit. “I definitely will be down here more.”
Taylor-Magee, the sophomore from Toledo, hopes the rally will help show students what downtown has to offer, including her favorite shop, Finders Records,
“Maybe it’ll encourage them to get out more and not just be stuck on campus,” she said.
James Balcom, a first year student from the Dayton area, was downtown getting a sense of the community and taking advantage of the chance to meet people.
He’s impressed by Bowling Green. Though smaller, it reminds him of home, a place where “everyone kind of knows everyone.”
Looking forward, to the coming semester, Taylor-Magee was optimistic: “I hope it mellows down, and everyone is considerate and safe.”
