Area school districts have just finished out the 2022-23 school year, and local families looking for summer fun activities don’t have to look far this Friday evening, June 2, when the second annual Pineapple Palooza is staged in downtown Bellefontaine.
Zip lining, live music, inflatables, vendors, food trucks, contests and more are part of the festivities, presented by event sponsor Four Acre Clothing Co., and their family of companies, Hi-Point Graphics and All-Around Awards. The First Fridays Bellefontaine event has expanded this year and is staged from 4 to 11 p.m.
“Last year was a huge hit with a great crowd. We plan to make it even bigger this year and grow it into a large scale festival,” Four Acre Clothing Co. co-owner Andrea Wrocklage said this week. “We’d encourage everyone to come out, as there is something for people of all ages to enjoy.”
She said in Four Acre Clothing Co.’s travels to other cities to participate in various festivals, they gathered much of their inspiration for Pineapple Palooza.
“We’ve found so many enjoyable activities, and we wanted to bring that same energy to our community.”
The pineapple in the name is a nod to Bellefontaine and its fountain in front of the Logan County Courthouse, along with the welcoming vibe of the community.
A wide variety of inflatables will be set up throughout the downtown, including a pirate bounce house, inflatable obstacle course, giant tropical slide, an inflatable wrecking ball game and four-way basketball.
Participants can try out their surfing skills, test their core balance at the log rolling challenge and even race down Court Street in a giant Zorb ball with their friends.
Attraction wristbands can be purchased in advance, or during the festival, for $25 per person, $40 for two people or $100 per family (up to five). Activities also can be purchased separately.
Zip lining takes place along Main Street, with the entry close to Citizens Federal Savings & Loan. Zip line tickets are purchased at the zip line and are separate from the wristbands.
A Kids Zone is planned for the area of west Columbus Avenue, which includes face painting and balloon artists, along with the returning Dunk a Cop.
The Top of Ohio Mended Hearts also hosts a booth and rides on Grandpa’s Express train in the Kids Zone, with donations accepted to help support a child attending heart camp. At their booth, the Mended Hearts is hosting sign-ups to expand their support group to reach pediatric heart patients and their families, nicknamed “Big Hearts, Little Hearts.”
With all the activities, participants working up an appetite will have a variety of different food trucks to choose from, along with lemon shake-ups and Hall’s Kettle Corn.
Vendors will be lining the downtown with their goods, arts and crafts, and information, including a non-profit row along east Columbus Avenue, where the newly formed Four Acre Foundation will be set up among others.
A DJ provides music and hosts pineapple-themed contests throughout the event.
Then at 8 p.m., Cherry Blonde takes the stage, set up in the area of Main Street and Chillicothe Avenue, for a rocking good time. Four Acre Clothing Co. and National Extrusion Manufacturing Company sponsor the stage and the performance.
Attractions and activities will close up at 9 p.m., and the band tops off the night until 11 p.m.
A beer garden will serve throughout the evening, located close to the stage. DORA is in effect throughout the downtown as usual for the event.
To add to the fun, a number of restaurants in the downtown are serving up pineapple-themed foods and cocktails Friday evening.
Live T-shirt printing also takes place by Four Acre Clothing Co., 102 S. Main St., where event T-shirts and concert T-shirts also are for sale.
“A Tribute to the Mills Brothers” also is staged at the Holland Theatre Friday night, beginning at 7 p.m. Under the direction of Myles Bowers with guest director/arranger Mike Kamuf, the Logan County Youth Jazz Orchestra presents a world premiere of a Mills Brothers medley, along with other jazz standards of the era.
Proceeds from the Pineapple Palooza benefit the Downtown Bellefontaine Partnership. Mary Rutan Health is a sponsor of the First Fridays Bellefontaine series.
To purchase tickets or for more details, visit “Pineapple Palooza Presented by Four Acre Clothing Co.” on Facebook or https://downtownbellefontaine.com.