Mantua Little League and its board hosted the second annual fall festival on Oct. 26 at the league’s fields on Main Street, an event that drew a large crowd from the township and beyond.
Players, coaches and others involved in the program sported Little League gear or its colors, red, white and blue. Some kids wore costumes to get into the Halloween spirit and the festival included a variety of activities for guests, including a bounce house for kids, face painting and carnival games.
“Thank you to everyone who came out to support our fall festival,” the league posted on Facebook. “We hope you had as much fun as we did.”
Sponsors also posted signs at the event to emphasize their support for the league. On hand at the festival were township police – who brought along a K-9 – the fire department, EMS and the public works department, whose representatives interacted with attendees and displayed vehicles children could explore inside.
“The township committee and I wholeheartedly support Mantua Little League and all the youth programs throughout the community,” said Mayor Robert Zimmerman. “It’s very gratifying to help the youth of Mantua and to be a part of events such as this. Great job by President Jack Steen and the rest of the (Little League) board.”
The board hosts the fall festival as a way to bring the community together and to bring attention to youth sports in the township.
“This idea came about by thinking of ways to bring the Mantua community together,” explained the league’s Nicole Steen. “The board was hashing out ideas and we decided to go forth with this event.”
“The Mantua fall festival is all about bringing our community together,” she added. “We are a small town, and baseball is a small, but major piece of it. We love our Mantua Little League families and anytime we can include the community into our events, it’s a win-win.”