Community day shines bright light on Bethel Park
Bethel Park Community Day had something for everyone. Parade, candy, flowers, games and plenty of vendors hawking wares to turn a profit for their organizations.
Rayna Honkus, 5, came for the candy and the parade. “That was the best part,” she said.
Honkus and her family stayed for the amusement. Honkus and her brother, Reece, 3, enjoyed the inflatable slides. Other attractions included a petting zoo, dunk tank, face painting and miniature golf. There even was a tub filled with plastic lightweight bubbles and blocks surrounded by rocking horses with which toddlers could play and ride.
“This is our second community day and the kids love it. They are having fun,” said Melissa Honkus as she watched her children with her husband, Justin. “It’s a fun day for the family.”
Kerri Ebeby and her husband, Rick Fawcett, enthusiastically endorsed community day as well. They had moved to Bethel Park from Green Tree. They were also attending the municipality’s annual fun fest for the second time.
Their day kicked off by watching their 9-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, participate in the parade. She marched with the recreation swim team contingent along a nearly 1-mile route that started at the municipal building and proceeded down Broad Street to the high school campus, where more than 60 booths were set up in the parking lot.
“We love community day,” Ebeby said. “It’s nice that all the athletes get to march.
“My daughter loves it, ” Ebeby added. “She’s running around with her friends now.”
Ebeby was ‘making the rounds’ with her son, Carter. Their first stop was to make a donation to the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Department’s booth. After receiving a complimentary Engine 110 red hat, Carter toured and sat in the fire truck displayed on the festival grounds.
Bethel Park has grown on Ebeby.
“We didn’t know how we would feel about the move from Green Tree but I have never felt more a part of a community than I do living here in Bethel Park,” she said. “We love this community.”
John Carberry is equally passionate about Bethel Park. He graduated from the high school, resides in the municipality and is a trustee with the Bethel Park Community Foundation. In addition, he co-owns and operates a fitness business within its boundaries.
“I have been a resident all my life,” Carberry said. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. It’s the best place to be and community day is one of its best events. We love supporting the community.”
Val Rohm agreed. As she watched Maria Pantaloni paint the Black Hawk decal on her daughter’s face at the Highpoint Fitness booth, Rohm said she has attended community day ever since she moved to Bethel Park 10 years ago.
“We love it. Bethel Park’s community day is one of the biggest events,” she said. “It’s a great showing of all the teams, sports, organizations.”
Regardless of notoriety the municipality gained because of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a political rally by one of its residents, Rohm said, Bethel Park is a great community in which to raise children and that one bad apple doesn’t spoil its reputation.
“With every community there are good and bad parts and everyone has a few nuts. We had at least one,” she noted. “In general, the good parts of the community outweigh the bad. Just look around here. All the black and orange. Everybody is behind the organizations that are here. Bethel Park has everything from sports to music to arts to ministries. There are Republicans and there are Democrats. Everyone has something here and something to give.”
While the Bethel Park Hockey Club was providing the opportunity to dunk its head coach in a tank filled with cold water and the basketball and baseball associations were affording chances to convert points and strikeouts, groups like the Interact Club and girls tennis team promoted volunteerism and hope for the future.
According to Interact Club president Kristen Weiss, the organization was doing more than racing pigs, selling popcorn, and T-shirts. The biggest promotion was the handout informing potential members about the services provided. The club meets one Wednesday a month after school and performs volunteer work throughout the community. The group combines with the Rotary Club during its fundraising events including the annual chicken barbecue, pancake breakfast and spaghetti dinner.
“I’m in a couple other clubs in high school but with Interact you can see the impact that you are making in the community. I really like that,” Weiss said.
“Interact is a really great way to get students out into the community. I have met a lot of people and made a lot of connections through the club. It really lays the foundation to give back to the community,” she added.
MacKenzie Smock also acknowledged the benefit of community day as it showcases all the different clubs, activities and sports, available throughout the schools and municipality. Smock represented the girls’ varsity tennis team, which is the defending WPIAL champion. The group was selling cookies and chrysanthemums.
“We have the best fundraiser,” Smock boasted. “Because the cookies are so good and the mums can grow. If you take care of them properly, they’re perpetual. They’ll come back again and last forever.”
The crowds, like the chrysanthemums, will return next September for another community day but 2024 may be tough to top, said Joe Consolmagno, John Oakes and Jim Jenkins.
“The recreation department put this together and does a great job,” said Jenkins, who is a first-year councilman. “There’s always a nice mix of people and community groups here. It’s one of the few fundraising opportunities for a lot of these organizations.”
“It’s always an outstanding day and this year’s weather was beautiful. You can’t beat it,” added Consolmagno, who is council vice president.
“This has been one of the busier community days that we have had,” added Oakes, who is council president. “The parade was busy as well. It was a very good crowd.”
“Community day is always awesome,” Schall said. “It’s great to see the kids, the families, the whole community out here having fun and enjoying the day.”
“It’s a great time for all of the community to come together,” commented Elena Berquist. “Bethel Park definitely is a great community in which to live.”