CLEVELAND, Ohio – Hoping to be an annual celebration of Fall and Halloween, University Circle debuted its first Yay! Fall Fun event Saturday afternoon at Wade Oval.
The free event hosted a plethora of fall-themed activities, including a costume parade, live performances and a showing of “Hocus Pocus,” and food vendors. The event also had designated zones for fun and educational experiences: Discovery Zone, STEM Zone, Arts and Culture Zone and Play Zone.
Families dressed for Halloween converged on Wade Oval on Saturday afternoon. Children danced to music, hula hooped, got free books, participated in a costume parade. They even got to pet animals at a petting zoo.
Aniana Pickett, 18, of Cleveland, brought her son Ace, 2, who was dressed as Woody from Toy Story. He had a look of wonder as he set his eyes on the array of activities at Yay! Fall Fun. He had his eyes set on the petting zoo.
“I just want to keep him involved in things that are good, that are good for him,” Pickett said. “I don’t like all the violence and stuff going on. I want to keep him involved in things so when he grows up there’s other things to do besides violence.”
Children and adults dressed up crowd around the stage before the costume parade begins at Yay! Fall Fun, Saturday, Oct. 19 at Wade Oval. This is the first time the event has been held.Kaylee Remington
Cartier Oliver, 41, of Warrensville Heights, brought his son KJ, 4, to the event dressed as a skeleton sipping on Apple Cider. Oliver said community events like Yay! Fall Fun are important for Cleveland.
“It helps get rid of, or alleviate, some of the negative connotations that come from the East Side,” he said, adding that his son loves dressing up for Halloween.
“He (dresses up) so I’m down with it.”
The event stems from another major event that was previously held called, “Yay! Saturday” which started in 2020, said Heidi Hudak, chief marketing and experience officer for University Circle Inc.
“They were Saturdays in the summer, July and August, for kids,” she said. “It was really a way to try to help them stay engaged with learning and socialization during the pandemic and schools were closed. You know and it was such a tough time, especially for those kiddos and families.”
The summer events were a hit with the families and children. But as pandemic restrictions loosened, schools reopened, families went on vacations, and the attendance declined. University Circle Inc. decided to rethink their strategy.
The group decided to pick fall to do a revamped event: Yay! Fall Fun.
“We figured we would keep the same concepts, have those partners come, deliver the hands-on programming activities, fun things for kids to do, but at a time of year that would be easier for families to have access to do,” Hudak said.
The event runs until 6 p.m. Saturday.
Children hula hoop during the first ever Yay! Fall Fun event Saturday, Oct. 19 at Wade Oval in Cleveland.Kaylee Remington
Kaylee Remington is the shopping and entertainment commerce reporter and metro reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read her work online.
