BEACHWOOD – It took more than a little rain to keep people away from Beachwood Community Day.
There was a slight drizzle for most of the day. A few times, there would be steady rain for a few minutes. The band performed classic rock songs like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” This is the song that says “Thunder only happens when it’s raining.” Fortunately, there was no thunder or lightning.
Mayor Ron Roma said that he had been watching the weather reports, worried about if he should call it or not. On the afternoon of the day before, it was the last chance to call it but at that point there was only a 14% chance of rain so he let it go. By the next morning that percentage was far higher.
It was still very well attended. An hour into the event, there was no parking next to Birch and Surf Park and people parked a street or more away. Police created safe places for people to cross on their way in.
Some people came prepared. Carrying umbrellas, they waited on lines for ice cream, food trucks, and more. The Knights of Columbus had a booth selling food as a fundraiser. Picnic tables were set up for people to sit down and enjoy their food while listening to the music.
In one corner of the park, a petting zoo and pony rides were set up. In another, there were inflatables and a rock wall. Two rows of booths stretched from the pony rides to one of the baseball diamonds.
While some of the booths were local vendors and crafters, some were raising funds or raising awareness.
The group Always Supporting Our Military collects items to send overseas to soldiers, and takes donations to pay for the postage. They were selling items to help with that last part. Anyone who wishes to help with this mission can call 732-349-0638.
The Berkeley-Lacey Relay for Life had a booth there as well, letting people know about the event on September 25-26 at Veterans Park in Berkeley. For more information, visit secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?pg=entry&fr_id=99030.
Both groups said they met new people who expressed interest in helping their organizations.
