By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bowling Green will have a new bash to enjoy.
Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. the first ever BetterBG! Bash will be held on the Wooster Green.
The event, organized by Fawn Briggs and Will Pierce, is an outgrowth of the Facebook page Better BG.
Both share the mission of celebrating all that’s positive about the city. “We’re just trying to get people involved in local community stuff,” Pierce said.
The Facebook page was started a counter to what they saw as excessive negativity on other pages devoted to the city. “It’s just designed to see good things people have to offer rather than we don’t have an Applebee’s every five seconds,” he said.
After the page, which has more than a 1,000 members, had been up for three weeks, the administrators asked what people thought the city needed.
An event to bring people together was the response. And people not only asked for it, but they also stepped up and offered to help.
Pierce said people’s helpfulness was “incredibly surprising.”
That assistance was needed. They had a very short time frame to get the bash organized. Because of that it was envisioned as a small affair. “The event turned out not to be very small. It grew very fast,” Pierce said. “Think of it as miniaturized Firefly Night.”
The bash will feature musical acts in the gazebo including Chris Salyer, the singing group Inside Voices, and closer Crickett and Ruben.
More than 30 vendors will line the walkways in the green selling their wares and advertising their businesses. They range from art photographer Andrew Vogelpohl to Mary Kay and more.
Four different food vendors will also be on hand.
Kids activities will be in the green areas. There will be karaoke, a cornhole tournament as well as activities from the Parks and Recreation Department.
A raffle, featuring prizes donated by local business and vendors, will benefit the Brown Bag Food Project. Raffle tickets will be $1 or the donation of a canned good.
Pierce said initially they hoped the event could be free but cost of security and porta-potties necessitated charging vendors a modest fee, Pierce said.
The event will be dry, so there’s no need for an expensive permit to sell liquor.
Organizers hope that this will be first of twice yearly events, probably in a different location because they hope to make it bigger.
Right now they are eyeing sometime next May but pinning down a date for the bash is tricky since they are trying to avoid conflicts with other activities.
