Bethel Bounty bigger and better this year
Bethel Bounty promises to be bigger and better than ever.
Part of the reason has to do with a new venue. This year’s event will be held Nov. 15 at the Library Volunteer Fire Hall, which can accommodate more guests.
The other reason is attributed to the efforts of Aruzhan Akhmetkhali and Kristina Adhikari.
Not only are they interns with the Bethel Park Community Foundation, which hosts the event and provides scholarships and charitable donations to organizations throughout the municipality, they are members of the high school’s DECA chapter.
DECA originally stood for Distributive Education Clubs of America but the organization no longer uses the full spelled-out name because it grew into an international program. Today, it is simply known as DECA, a career and technical student organization that prepares high school and college students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and business management.
Akhmetkhali and Adhikari took on a marketing campaign to promote the community’s longest-running tradition to a new audience.
For 32 years, Bethel Bounty has featured small vendors, food vendors and raffles. The event features unlimited samplings from more than 20 restaurants, caterers, coffee shops, bakeries, breweries and wineries.
As part of their campaign, Akhmetkhali and Adhikari organized a pop-up sale at Bethel Park High School. It began at the start of the school day on Oct. 22 at The Bean and continued throughout the day.
Akhmetkhali said that while Bethel’s Bounty has deep roots in the community, the event has historically had limited marketing reach. “Bethel Bounty has a long tradition in the community, but there hasn’t been a lot of marketing,” she said. “We wanted to help broaden their horizons and make more people aware of it.” Adhikari echoed that sentiment. “The more people know about this event, the more it strengthens the entire community,” she said.
Tickets for Bethel Bounty are $50 and can be purchased in person at Evey True Value Hardware and Rental store located at 5779 Library Road or by calling 412-835-5780.
Additionally, community members or businesses interested in donating a raffle basket for the event should contact Christine Firek at firek.christine@bphawks.org.