The morning air is warm and humid. The smell of barbecue wafts and travels through it. The sound of children playing reverberates throughout Diamond Park. A guitarist serenades the crowd before him, plucking his strings to a delightful melody. Vendors and community organizations pitch their tents, eager to engage with passersby.
It’s 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday and everyone is gathered for Celebration Meadville, a yearly event to commemorate the city of Meadville. In addition, numerous Allegheny students congregate around, exploring downtown shops and businesses in hopes to spend their Downtown Dollars.
Tours of downtown for first year students were held numerous times over the past several years according to Andy Walker, ‘00, executive director for the office of economic, civic & community engagement. The office worked in tandem with the Meadville Independent Business Alliance to schedule Week of Welcome events to introduce students to the area that surrounds them. Tour guides cycle through various locations to get students acquainted with the environment off campus, as well as meeting Walker and Meadville’s mayor, Jaime Kinder.
“The goal is to familiarize students with downtown and what the downtown business community has to offer,” Walker said. “Each student will receive a $5 Downtown Dollars gift certificate, which is eligible for use at participating Meadville Independent Business Alliance member businesses.”
Not only does Celebration Meadville provide a space for people from all walks of life to come together, but it also encourages economic growth within the community. Students and staff visiting businesses and organizations spread information about them and how they can interact with them best.
The Downtown Dollars certificates can be used any time during the school year, giving students more opportunities to explore downtown businesses and Meadville as a whole.
“The downtown business community is interested,” Walker said. “And so, really, it’s to make [students] aware that they feel comfortable navigating and knowing where they’re going.”
Colin Hurley, associate dean and director of community engagement, also spoke about his work on the event and its importance to Allegheny. When planning the event, Allegheny organizers thought about ways to better engage with the wider Meadville community. The event taking place over the Labor Day weekend played a large part in students, staff and community members being able to gather and connect with one another.
“Too often I think that the college is up here and that Meadville is there, this is a great opportunity to think, ‘We already are a part of Meadville, so how do we explore it?’” Hurley said. “Having them be curious about us is a way of us opening ourselves up to the community.”
Rosaria Betton, ’26, was another member of the Allegheny community who lended a hand to organize Celebration Meadville. As a Bonner student, she has worked with her site leader for the past two years to bring the businesses, organizations and people together for the event.
“It’s a lot of fun because it’s just a big celebration for the Meadville community as a whole, which I feel is a great opportunity for the students to interact with the Meadville residents themselves as well as the local businesses,” Betton said.
Being a new student in a new environment can sometimes be overwhelming and can deter individuals from interacting with the world around them. That’s why it’s important for events like these to exist, according to Betton; to show how welcoming Meadville is and to have a place to have fun and learn about community engagement.
“With the Downtown Dollars and with the tours, it pushes them to familiarize themselves with the town and the people. Everyone is really nice,” Betton said. “There’s a lot of places that even I haven’t been to yet; I know Cup n’ Spoon is really popular and have a lot of really good deals for broke college students. There’s FCCA, and they have a lot of great events and everyone there is so open and welcoming.”
Hurley hopes events like these will draw students to engaging with their community in more ways than one, such as through community service and relationship building. After the COVID-19 pandemic, where space between individuals was stressed, coming back together to understand what might be needed to help one another is important. Such events include Service Saturdays, which connect students with non-profits organizations in Meadville who could use assistance on one Saturday of the month.
“What does that look like if we empower students that are already in the community to do the storytelling?” Hurley said. “To say, ‘Hey, come alongside me and join me for this event, be a part of something that’s not just on campus. Don’t just be in the bubble, but be a part of Meadville.’”