There’s still a lot to do

If you are among those who believe that summer runs from June 1 through Sept. 1, then you are facing a sad reality -- we have passed the halfway point of the season.

And, while it might seem like the whole summer is slipping away, the reality is that there are still many things ahead to enjoy before we head into autumn.

We've already had a lot of things happen -- Frontier Days at Historic Fort Steuben, the Dean Martin Festival and the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Festival kept the June calendar full.

Earlier this month saw Follansbee Community Days, the annual Weirton Steel 25-Year Club picnic and the annual Greek Food Festival held at Weirton's All Saints Greek Orthodox Church.

Thanks to the efforts of the Steubenville Cultural Trust, the streets of Steubenville offer an attraction for nearly one-half of the days of the year.

The Great Eggsibition brings color Easter eggs to the community in the spring, the Catfish Crawl, which returned on July 1, features 5-foot statues that have been decorated by local artists and the Steubenville Nutcracker Village, which helps to bring the magic of the holiday season to life from the end of November through the first of the year.

Outdoor concerts, for example, have become a staple of the season in many communities throughout the region. They offer a chance to enjoy the outdoors, spend time with family and old friends -- and maybe make a new friend or two -- and hear the work of area musicians.

The weekly events held at the Berkman Amphitheater at Historic Fort Steuben and the Weirton Event Center are winding down -- the Steubenville series, which is held Thursday evenings -- is down to just one show: Hermie Granati's Dueling Pianos and Bon Journey will perform on Thursday.

There are two shows left in the Weirton Series, which is held Friday evenings: Gage Joseph on Friday and the Credence Clearwater Revival tribute band Pendulum on Aug. 9.

Music will continue in Follansbee on the last Monday of the month on Monday (the M-80s), Aug. 26 (the Easy Street Band) and Sept. 30 (Twice as Nice.)

Shows will continue later into the season because the series there starts a little later than most of the others -- weekly shows began July 3. Held Wednesdays in the Gazebo Commons in the center of town, the series continues this week. Chelsea Householder and the Remainders will both perform on Wednesday, Steve Dorsey and Kurt Nova will both perform on Aug. 7, the 40-plus Band will perform on Aug. 14, Easy Street will perform on Aug. 21 and the Fantasys will close out the season Aug. 28.

There are several opportunities to participate in one of the region's monthly street fairs.

First Fridays of Fourth in Steubenville, which launched the concept of the large street fair in our region in 2018, continues its successful run on Friday with Nineties Night. Sept. 6 will be Storybook Night and Oct. 4 will carry a Fall Festival theme. The monthly event, which is organized by the Harmonium Project continues to bring vibrancy to downtown each month, and serves as a showcase of the many good things we have in the area.

Also bringing life to the community is Wednesdays in Wintersville, which is held along Main Street on the first Wednesday of each month. The volunteer committee led by Joel John of Exquisite Creations by Joel, continues to make each month's event interesting -- Aug. 7 will feature an '80s Flashback, with the theme of the Sept. 4 event being Apples, Peaches and Pumpkin Pie.

The Harrison and Carroll county fairs have been held, but the Jefferson County Fair will begin its 153rd-annual run on Aug. 12. The Brooke County Fair will return Sept. 13.

Local churches and community organizations throughout the region have held their own events, ranging from the annual strawberry festival at the Wintersville Methodist Church that was held earlier this summer to the Aug. 10 Peach Festival at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Weirton.

And, the Toronto Art Festival will bring the streets of the city alive Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

There are many other events that will keep area residents busy just about every weekend for the rest of the summer -- and for the whole year, for that matter.

When you consider everything that's happening each week in communities across the region, there should never be a time when you say there's nothing to do.

(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)