Have you ever seen a Minion, a butterfly, and Sonic the Hedgehog go for a bike ride?
That’s not the setup to a terrible joke — it was the scene on the blacktop between OneLove Cafe and Bike Shop and Sister Salvage & Soles in Granville on Sunday, Oct. 27.
The blacktop there is usually just a space for parked cars and pedestrians bouncing between the two businesses, but on Sunday, it was transformed into the perfect cove for a Fall Festival with games, costumes, live music and lots of candy. In collaboration, the shops blocked the parking lot from incoming traffic to host friends and families for the day.
“This is our first time putting on this event,” Kimberly Robinson said.
Robinson, 59, lives in Granville and operates Sister Salvage & Soles on South Main Street with her husband, Tim, and sister, Kelly Nash.
“Sundays are the only day we’d be able to close off this area,” Robinson explained, “and we thought it’d be fun to host something for the community.”
Tim Robinson, 62, says “It’s a very kid-centric day,” stacked with bike rides, snacks, a baby donkey and costume contest “but also offers the opportunity for adults to spend time with one another.”
In classic OneLove fashion, the event kicked off with an eight-mile-long bike ride for the kids — one of the few times you would see a Minion or Sonic the Hedgehog coasting the Thomas J. Evans Trail.
Back at the businesses, the adults enjoyed Turkish coffee, shopping for vintage items and shoes, and conversing with one another.
The Granville Garden Club’s Jill Yost and Deb Hamilton attended the event, selling extra daffodil bulbs.
Carlos Cebull, 37, traveled to Granville with his family from Columbus.
Cebull stood on the skinny concrete landing, guitar in hand, singing classics like Harvest Moon by Neil Young and How Sweet It Is by Marvin Gaye.
The sun shone down on the strip of asphalt as Cebull’s melodies fluttered in the air among the bees. Cebull’s daughter and wife sat front row for his performance, while his son stood on stage and danced to the music.
Kids rode their bikes through orange cones and chased bubbles through the air.
Although Cebull works in marketing, a friend reached out to see if he’d be interested in providing the music for the day. He happily agreed.
“I’ve been having a blast singing for everyone,” Cebull said. “My biggest fan might be the bee that was trying to fly into my mouth the entire time I was singing.”
Benches were placed in the middle of the parking lot, circling a steel stove campfire. The fire parted around sticks topped with marshmallows, and the corners of the kids’ mouths were decorated with graham cracker crumbs and smeared, melty chocolate.
Fulya Doslovich, one of OneLove’s four owners, played a crucial role in organizing the festival. Doslovich joined Cebull on the makeshift stage to announce the costume competition.
Multiple rugs were lined up, one after another, stretching out to mimic a red carpet. The kids were announced as they walked the carpet, basking in the glory.
A Minion.
A butterfly.
Sonic the Hedgehog.
The Titanic.
A ghoul.
The big winner was Mila, a Titanic-loving young girl.
Liz Mechling, Mila’s mom, made the costume by hand and fashioned her own Iceberg costume to go with it.
“After we visited the Titanic exhibit at COSI [Center of Science and Industry], she was hooked,” Mechling, 46, said.
“She actually asks us to tell her the history of the Titanic every night for her bedtime story,” Mechling’s partner, Victor Matković added.
Ellis, their son, was in an inflatable Sonic the Hedgehog costume.
“Sometimes, you have to settle for one homemade and one bought,” Mechling said.
Mila hugged Mechling’s leg, wondering where the arts and crafts were taking place.
“We jump at any chance for a little road trip,” Mechling explained. “The 30-minute drive down isn’t too bad, and we love Granville.” They traveled from Clintonville, Ohio for the fall festival.
Before the event, the pair went to Dollar Tree and constructed the historic cruise ship, and bought a little boy’s blazer from Goodwill, adorning it with gold beads to look like the ship’s captain.
“These events always have fun opportunities for both us and the kids,” Matković, 46, said. “I also appreciate the business’ using the communal space between them for the community.”
The entire day was topped off with the arrival of a baby donkey.
Kids and parents surrounded the little creature, nuzzling her owner’s hand.
Laughter and squeals were heard from all.
Until, the slight screams and scattering of bodies, and all that was left was a donkey standing over its business.
“The second the donkey started pooping,” Mechling said, hysterically laughing as a shovel was produced to scoop from the asphalt, “I was out!”
Brin Glass writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.