By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green campus and community came together on Saturday to celebrate their camaraderie.
They did that by burying their faces in a pie eating contest, flying over the downtown on ziplines, and packing Main Street with the 600-member Falcon Marching Band. City employees and residents welcomed the mass of students, who got acquainted with downtown shops and competed over games.
The annual Rally BG on Main did exactly what it was intended to do – bring the two populations together as one.
This was the sixth year for the event, which was born in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. It took root after Mayor Mike Aspacher and BGSU President Rodney Rogers met over concerns about the campus and community being tucked away due to Covid restrictions, said Amanda Gamby, director of communications for the city.
Aspacher and Rogers came up with the idea for a rally bringing both populations together – though they had no idea if it would be successful.
“We were pleasantly surprised,” Gamby said. “We decided it would be an annual event – to bring our two communities together and remind us we are better as one.”
City residents Betty and Jack Whitacre come every year to the festivities.
“We come to see the kids and the camaraderie,” said Betty as she and her husband sat along South Main Street where the Bowling Green High School and BGSU bands performed.
“I think it’s a good idea to bring the college kids into the community,” Betty Whitacre said.
BGSU senior Luke Wooland, from Westerville, has also been a regular at the rallies.
“It’s one of my favorite events all year,” said Wooland, as he waited to play cornhole. A member of the BGSU cross country team, he has attended the past four years.
“The vibes are all good. It’s a great college community,” he said.
BG resident Judy Ennis also makes it a point to go to the rally each year.
“It’s fun to watch the city people interacting with students,” said Ennis as she and friends watched from a vantage point in the parklet on South Main Street. “It makes me feel young.”
In addition to the massive marching band, BGSU athletic teams also showed up for the gathering. Freshmen members of the Falcon hockey team said events like this make them feel welcomed to Bowling Green.
“It’s very community minded,” said Carson Campbell, from Ontario.
“The people have been nice to us,” added Thomas Verdon, from Montreal.
Activities lined the two blocks of downtown. For the more adventurous, there was ziplining, a giant slide, Nerf ax throwing, and a Ninja “extreme” course.
As part of rally tradition, the mayor and BGSU president competed in the zipline course. Aspacher’s one-year streak of winning was broken on Saturday when the finish was so close that it was declared a tie.
For the slower paced rally-goers, there were bounce houses, miniature golf, cornhole, basketball hoops, and giant games of Battleship, Connect 4 and Kerplunk.
City services, usually behind the scenes, got to shine. There were fire trucks, police vehicles, plus electric, water and sewer vehicles. A fire safety house was set up for kids.
And once again, competitors from campus and the community threw calorie counting caution to the wind for the pie eating contest sponsored by Call of the Canyon Cafe. After an invocation offered by Pastor Jeff Schooley, the nine contestants buried their faces in their full-size peanut butter pies.
The rules were simple – no use of hands or utensils, and the pie must stay down. Nobody wants to see the peanut butter cream make a repeat appearance, stressed emcees Jerry Anderson and Clint Corpe.
One contestant took the no-hands rule very seriously, and when his pie fell from the table to the street (face up), he continued eating it from the pavement. Others lifted their heads to get air, since their noses were crammed with pie.
Reigning champion Nick Grames had a strong showing, but in the end it was Abe Tawil, of Oregon, who took home the “Golden Spoon” award and the prize of free slices of pie for the next year.
When asked how he felt after consuming an entire pie in mere minutes, Tawil responded, “hungry.”
“This is such a fun community event, and we’re proud to be a part of it,” said Ardy Gonyer, co-owner of Call of the Canyon with Tim Emmerich.
