Festival on the Hill Produces Fun and Funds

Graced with an gorgeous fall afternoon, this year’s Festival on the Hill was a triumph. Organized by the Bolton Hill Nursery under the leadership of Louie Wilder, the planners outdid themselves. 

The rebooted Gourmet Gazebo was a huge success, featuring great food prepared by many neighbors. The expanded children’s area kept the younger generation joyful and occupied, and this year appealed to older children with the addition of a bounce house, obstacle course, and basketball hoop (a big thanks to Jeff Dugan). These activities set the stage for the Bolton Hill Olympics, with medals for the obstacle course, long jump and bean bag toss. Rev. Grey Maggiano and neighbor Ron Gray awarded medals to the winners.

Photos by Kellie Wellborn

The day culminated in the second annual Pie in the Face contest. Organizer Kelly Applefeld admits that she was “a bit worried” at the few who initially volunteered, but was grateful to all those who were willing to “step up to the plate”—including Louie Wilder, Peter Van Buren, Andrew Parlock, Grey Maggiano, Sara Darlington, Mickey Fried, Tim Horjus and Kara Peterson.

The contest helped raise an additional $500, and Kelly hopes it will become a Festival on the Hill tradition for many years to come. She wants readers to know it’s never too early to volunteer your face for a pie in 2018. Email her at bhnkellyapplefeld@gmail.com if you want to save your spot.

Generous sponsorships from local businesses and good neighbors offset costs, so most of the day’s take was profit. Louie projects that they should have roughly $10,000.00 to distribute in grants, nearly $5,000 more than last year!  Grant applications will be posted on the BHN website and listed in the bulletin in January, due in March and awarded in May. Any nonprofit who serves the 21217 zip code may apply for a grant; participation in the festival is not a requirement for grants.

As Louie said, “There are simply too many people to thank individually, as it really takes a village to make a successful Festival On the Hill.”