{"id":87273,"date":"2021-11-03T10:26:29","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T14:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=87273"},"modified":"2021-11-03T10:26:29","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T14:26:29","slug":"village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/","title":{"rendered":"Village Appreciation Night lights up the sky"},"content":{"rendered":"

In true community fashion, the Owego Police Department and its Police Benevolent Association organized an evening filled with free food, live entertainment, hay wagon rides, and a bonfire at Marvin Park in Owego on Saturday, Oct. 22. The best part of the event, which took many volunteers to assemble, was that it was 100% free of charge! <\/p>\n

Offered throughout the evening was free food, cooked by Owego\u2019s own Mayor, Mike Baratta, and there were continual hay wagon rides, live music, and a blazing bonfire at the center of the track on the fairgrounds. <\/p>\n

\"Village<\/a>

Owego Police Department\u2019s Chief, Joseph Kennedy, stacks wood on Thursday, and in preparation for the Oct. 22 Village Appreciation Night and bonfire, held at the Tioga County Fairgrounds. Provided photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

The event served as a celebration of the community, and a salute to the first responders, fire personnel, healthcare workers, and to everyone that pulled together to help their neighbors since the beginning of the pandemic and the early lockdowns. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted this to be a fun and free event for everyone,\u201d said Owego Police Department Chief Joseph Kennedy, adding, \u201cWe really wanted to give everyone an opportunity to get out and celebrate being part of the community and wanted to especially thank all of our first responders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Village<\/a>

A dinosaur even made its way down to the Village Appreciation Night to warm up by the bonfire, eat, and enjoy some music. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

To make the event happen, the Owego Police, its Benevolent Association, and members of the community acted quickly to put things together. <\/p>\n

Support came from Wagner Lumber, who donated the wood for the bonfire; Fritz Rudin, who provided the hay wagon rides; Tioga County\u2019s Agricultural Society, who donated the use of the sound stage; Cops 4 A Cause, who stepped up to purchase food; Tioga State Bank, who came in as a major sponsor; Adam Weitsman and Upstate Shredding; Corey Relyea, from RPM Group; Tops Friendly Markets; Sonya Bement, who is a first responder in the Village and served as a volunteer during the event; the Owego Police Department\u2019s Police Benevolent Association, or PBA; Eric Johnson for helping out with the stage setup at the park; Officer Rudy Parker with the Owego Police Department; and countless others. <\/p>\n

\"Village<\/a>

This family was getting lightsabers ready for use following a bite to eat during Village Appreciation Night, held Oct. 22 at the fairgrounds in Owego, N.Y. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

A special thanks also goes to all of the volunteers involved with the event, to include dozens of emergency services personnel, several bringing trucks and creating a Touch A Truck activity for the hundreds of youth that arrived with their families.<\/p>\n

The Owego Fire Department had a limited supply of lightsabers that were able to blow colorful bubbles when swung like a sword. This popular item ran out before the night ended. <\/p>\n

Tegan Williams and Kody Thornton volunteered to run a 50\/50, offering guests a chance to take home a few bucks from this free event. Ironically, Thornton bought tickets himself and discovered that he won; and in a surprise twist, Thornton \u201cpaid it forward\u201d and donated the money back to the event. <\/p>\n

\"Village<\/a>

Josh Schecter, from Candor, N.Y., performs during Village Appreciation Night, held Oct. 22 at the fairgrounds in Owego. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

As the bonfire was lit that night, live entertainment took center stage as Josh Schecter, from Candor, N.Y., performed an acoustic set, and Wreckless Marci followed with an energized performance. Fans even arrived with signs, to show their love for the band.<\/p>\n

\"Village<\/a>

Wreckless Marci performs for guests during Village Appreciation Night, held Oct. 22 at the fairgrounds in Owego. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Over by the bonfire, old friends reunited and stayed warm on a cool fall night. People ate, some sang, children were smiling, volunteers cooked and served food all night long, and others emptied trash bins and cleared off tables.<\/p>\n

\"Village<\/a>

Several fans of Wreckless Marci head towards the stage, and as the bonfire blazes behind them during Village Appreciation Night, held Oct. 22 at the fairgrounds in Owego, N.Y. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

It takes a Village, and on Oct. 22 the efforts of everyone that helped bring the event together, literally, as well as the smiles on the faces of every one that arrived was a true testament to this. <\/p>\n

Owego is still the Coolest Small Town in America, in my book.<\/p>\n

\"Village<\/a>

These two arrived early and were able to get their hands on some lightsabers that blow bubbles, handed out by the Owego Fire Department during Village Appreciation Night, held Oct. 22 at the fairgrounds in Owego N.Y. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Village<\/a>

These two arrived early enough on Oct. 22 to grab up some lightsabers that can also blow bubbles. The lightsabers were offered, free of charge, by the Owego Fire Department during Village Appreciation Night, held Oct. 22 at the fairgrounds in Owego, N.Y. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Village<\/a>

Fritz Rudin waves back at the guests that stayed behind as he heads out to the track for another spin. Rudin offered hay wagon rides during Village Appreciation Night, held Oct. 22 at the fairgrounds in Owego. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In true community fashion, the Owego Police Department and its Police Benevolent Association organized an evening filled with free food, live entertainment, hay wagon rides,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":87283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nVillage Appreciation Night lights up the sky - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Village Appreciation Night lights up the sky - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In true community fashion, the Owego Police Department and its Police Benevolent Association organized an evening filled with free food, live entertainment, hay wagon rides,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-03T14:26:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/11\/Village10.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/\",\"name\":\"Village Appreciation Night lights up the sky - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/11\/Village10.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-03T14:26:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e03684194434956dfb61f5ffcbc19492\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/11\/03\/village-appreciation-night-lights-up-the-sky\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/11\/Village10.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/11\/Village10.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"The bonfire is lit during Village Appreciation Night, a free event held on Oct. 22 at the fairgrounds in Owego. 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