Cochairs of the revived Captain Brady Day Annette McMullen and Charlie Hall grew up attending the community festival at Brady Lake. McMullen recalled how the event was less centered around Captain Samuel Brady but bringing the then-Brady Lake Village community together.
“When we were kids, people knew each other more than they do now, so we’re hoping that this can help bring our community back together, and that’s what we’re trying to do — have something fun for the kids to do,” she said.
With the desire to recreate those connections, the pair started working together in 2025 to revive the festival. As they assessed the logistics of bringing back the event, McMullen realized that people don't know the full extent of event planning, as a lot of work is done behind the scenes to bring summer events, like Captain Brady Day, to life.
When planning events, organizers have to keep in mind the crowd size, food options, the cost of operations, safety precautions, an itinerary, backup plans, weather, location, road closures, parking, volunteers and entertainment.
With all of these objectives, those behind events like Captain Brady Day, the Ravenna Balloon A-Fair and Main Street Kent’s Art & Wine Festival spend months planning, making the preparation a story of its own.
Captain Brady Day
Because the last Captain Brady Day occurred in 2007, McMullen found her and Hall starting from scratch as they met every month to brainstorm plans. McMullen, leader of the Brady Lake Facebook page, began posting information about their meetings to attract potential volunteers.
Eventually 10 to 15 volunteers, including former Brady Lake Mayor Hal Lehman, joined them, helping them decide to host the fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 25 in the baseball fields of Brady Lake Park to avoid the road closures, with a four-heat kayak race at the lake.
“The people that are still coming were the ones that came at the beginning and have come every month and come through and have done so much,” she said.
To help with planning, each volunteer was assigned a task to be in charge of. For example, McMullen is in charge of the kayak race and Hall is in charge of the parade and vendors.
After determining the location, they created their estimated $5,000-budget goal and began brainstorming fundraising ideas. They landed on hosting a paint and sip in February, a benefit with Akron-based ’90s rock and cover band Blaming Amy in March and a rummage sale in April.
To continue to work toward their fundraising goal, McMullen also anticipates them hosting a 50/50 drawing.
The event’s sponsors, O’Neil’s Drive Thru, Wright Heating and Cooling, Chris Mehlmann Trucking Inc., the Kent Elks Lodge and the Men’s Club of the Lake Brady United Methodist Church, are also aiding in the efforts to reach the $5,000 goal. The men’s club donated money to create signs and the lodge allowed them to host fundraising events and meetings.
Other logistical parts of planning included renting more portable toilets, as Franklin Township only has two near the field, as well as creating a vendor sign up. They also had to ensure food truck vendors were up to date on their health department and fire safety certificates.
Ravenna Balloon A-Fair
When planning for the Ravenna Balloon A-Fair, Sean Short, president of the fair board, explained that the event’s 14 board members and their committees made from 40 to 50 volunteers will start planning in October, a month after the fair, mapping out where attractions and vendors go.
In 1979, the city of Ravenna gathered together to celebrate its balloon-making heritage, being home to the former-world’s largest marker of toy balloons, Oak Rubber Company. After 47 years, the fair now includes the Children’s Parade, tethered hot air balloons, helicopter rides and other festivities to celebrate Ravenna’s history.
They have learned over the years to add new entertainment. For example, for this year’s fair set to take place September 24-27, they are looking into having a motorcycle stunt show, bringing back the monster truck rides from last year and adding an additional tethered air balloon ride.
As the festival continues to expand with a Facebook following of over 3.5 million and spanning two locations — downtown Ravenna and the Portage County Fairgrounds — Short emphasized how having the right number of vendors becomes crucial.
“Last year, some of the lines at the fairgrounds for food were fairly large, so we are bringing in a lot more food vendors this year to give people more choices of food, keep the lines down and just the layout of where everything is. We’re going to spread things out more,” he said.
The fair will take place in downtown Ravenna Sept. 24, 25 and 26, with the Children’s Parade, Community Kick Off Breakfast and fair’s Downtown Festival, consisting of crafts, displays, food booths, live music and children’s stage.
Meanwhile, the fair attractions, including the hot air balloons, monster trucks, mechanical bull, Jeep show, inflatables, food vendors and live entertainment, will fill the fairgrounds on Sept. 26 and 27.
During the fair’s monthly meeting, the committees brainstorm vendor and entertainment ideas, choosing who to have at the fair and who have to as a backup.
For example, the entertainment committee will reach out to bands that pique their interest and mention them during their entertainment meetings, before voting on who makes the cut and who will be understudy.
In addition to increasing the number of food vendors present, they will no longer charge for parking to have it go more smoothly.
“Last year, we were charging for parking for $5 a car and that kind of backed up traffic a little bit,” Short said. “So, we hired a parking company that has been parking the cars for the Randolph Fair for the past 25 years, 30 years, and we are not charging for parking this year.”
Main Street Kent’s Art & Wine Festival
A similarity between the Ravenna Balloon A-Fair and Main Street Kent’s Art & Wine Festival is that both place a large emphasis on vendors and Ohio wineries, putting together an artist application, after they determine the date and time in February.
Main Street Kent anticipates having about 60 artists lining Portage Street in Kent, with wineries sprinkled intermediately, for the festival from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 6.
Dating back to 2006, the annual Art & Wine Festival features Ohio wineries, local food vendors, live music acts and craft vendors, providing wine samples, handcrafted merchandise like crocheted wine glasses and comfort food, such as burgers from food trucks.
For the festival, Main Street Kent strives to attract local food vendors and a variety of artists who utilize different mediums like pottery, glass, painting and photography.
“I think it’s great to have them (local food vendors) a part of what we’re doing, so not only it’s for them financially to succeed but it also helps people who come down to the event,” said Lesley Sickle, marketing coordinator for Main Street Kent. “They get to see these places vending their food and then they have the opportunity to come back another time.”
Although Main Street Kent’s Art & Wine Festival hasn’t changed too much over the years, Sickle recalled how the festival earned the nickname “Art, Wine and Tornado Festival,” because it often rained.
“We just encourage people to bring their umbrellas and ponchos and try to hunker down and keep everybody as dry as possible,” she said.
Hosting the festival rain or shine, in the event a vendor is no longer able to make, Main Street Kent is understanding that life happens but doesn't have backup vendors.
Countdown to summer
A month out Art & Wine Festival, Sickle anticipated Main Street Kent shifting gears, increasing marketing through social media posts to make sure word gets out.
McMullen and Hall also ramped up planning, hosting more monthly meetings with volunteers and finalizing their assignments.
“At the beginning of planning, it’s a big view of things, and then as things get closer and you find more details and what you need to go forward with things, it gets more detailed,” she said.
Although organizing large-scale summer events, like the Balloon A-Fair, can be time-pressing and demanding, Short said it’s all worth it when he hears people exclaim how cool the event was, while giving them golf cart rides to their cars.
“We are getting people from all over the place, out of state, from everywhere, and it’s great to see people want to travel and come out of town for our festival to enjoy it, not only our hometown people, but people from all over,” he said.