Inaugural Radford Community Fest a smash hit thanks to university-city partnership

Thousands of community members, university employees and students, and visitors from farther afield flocked to East Main Street in Radford, Virginia, on Saturday, Aug. 24, for the inaugural Radford Community Fest.

A steady flow of participants traversed the festival grounds from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., browsing and sampling a wide variety of products and services offered by the 70+ vendors set up along Main Street between Virginia Street and Tyler Avenue. From smoothies and snow cones to candles, soaps, plants and scents - and virtually everything in between - the vendor booths offered something for everyone.

On a day that saw temperatures rise into the mid-80s, adults enjoyed the cold, refreshing beverages of the Beer Garden sponsor Long Way Brewing in the shade of tented seating areas. Food trucks from 800 Degrees Woodfired Pizzas, Countryman Jamaican Grill and Soul on the Go offered attendees a veritable smorgasbord of tasty treats. Children, meanwhile, enjoyed the Kids Zone, featuring inflatable bounce houses and arts and crafts hosted by Radford University's Fraternity and Sorority Life. Everyone was treated to an eclectic mix of live music on center stage, including Solacoustix, Music Road Co Trio, The Floorboards and Florencia & The Feeling, along with gravity-defying entertainment by the acrobatic ensemble Fluidity Performance Troupe.

The first-ever festival was the brainchild of a reinvigorated partnership between the City of Radford and Radford University.
"Community Fest is the start of something bigger," Radford University President Bret Danilowicz said. "Opportunities to bring our community and university together, to celebrate the bonds and shared culture that unite us, will continue to raise the quality of life for all of us. We are one community, and the possibilities are unlimited."

Planning and execution for the event was led by Tricia Smith, associate vice president of Student Life at Radford University, and Melissa Skelton, director of Planning and Zoning for the city. In conjunction with a planning committee, they recruited event sponsors, bands, vendors and more than 100 volunteers from the university and city communities to help ensure logistics ran smoothly.

"This idea was sparked two years ago in hopes that we could offer exciting, shared experiences for all members of our Radford community," Smith said. "We were blown away by the support from merchants, artists, creators, vendors and participants. It is so rewarding to live, work and play alongside people who value one another and love this place so deeply!"

"I am incredibly grateful to our leaders for the opportunity to be a part of the Radford Community Fest team and for trusting us with the vision to create such an event for all our community members," Skelton remarked. "Our goal was to welcome our new and returning students, as well as bring our local and regional community members together for a day of fun, and I believe we did just that. The success of this event is an example of what we can achieve when people who have a heart for community work together as one."

The city and university plan for the community fest to be an annual event, and planning for the 2025 edition will begin soon. If you have ideas for making next year's event even better, please email them to Tricia Smith at [email protected].