Harmar Days again helps bridge funding gap
Artist Willow Peyton creates a still life of the Harmar Bridge Saturday during the Harmar Days festival. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Harmar Days festival-goers enjoying the petting zoo Saturday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Vehicles line the streets of Harmar for the car show as part of Harmar Days Saturday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Local band Past Prime Music performs for Harmar Days attendees on Saturday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Belpre resident Joan Coffey, left, enjoys ice cream while talking to her friend Marietta resident Kathy Lovett during the first day of the Harmar Days Festival Friday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
New Historic Harmar Bridge Company (HHBC) Executive Director Natalie Bradley, left, listens as HHBC Chairman of the Board Larry Sloter speaks during the welcome ceremony on the first day of the Harmar Days Festival Friday evening. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
A group of musicians play bagpipes and drums as part of the opening day of the Harmar Days Festival Friday evening. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
A food truck uses bubbles to attract customers during the opening day of the Harmar Days Festival Friday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
Pictured is a zero-turn mower, which was one of the raffle prizes at the Harmar Days Festival. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
Artist Willow Peyton creates a still life of the Harmar Bridge Saturday during the Harmar Days festival. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Harmar Days festival-goers enjoying the petting zoo Saturday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Vehicles line the streets of Harmar for the car show as part of Harmar Days Saturday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Local band Past Prime Music performs for Harmar Days attendees on Saturday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Belpre resident Joan Coffey, left, enjoys ice cream while talking to her friend Marietta resident Kathy Lovett during the first day of the Harmar Days Festival Friday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
New Historic Harmar Bridge Company (HHBC) Executive Director Natalie Bradley, left, listens as HHBC Chairman of the Board Larry Sloter speaks during the welcome ceremony on the first day of the Harmar Days Festival Friday evening. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
A group of musicians play bagpipes and drums as part of the opening day of the Harmar Days Festival Friday evening. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
A food truck uses bubbles to attract customers during the opening day of the Harmar Days Festival Friday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
Pictured is a zero-turn mower, which was one of the raffle prizes at the Harmar Days Festival. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
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MARIETTA -- Despite the early morning heat Saturday, Harmar Days was in full swing.
Vendors lined Maple Street while on Gilman Avenue patrons dined on meals from local food trucks and enjoyed music by local artists. A streetside car show bordered the entirety of the festival and a myriad of games, crafts and even a petting zoo were available for attendees.
While this event celebrates bringing the community of Marietta together, the Historic Harmar Bridge Company, which hosts the festival, hopes to bring attention to the Harmar Bridge property.
All of the money raised at the festival will go directly to the repair fund, which includes the upkeep of rail cars and surrounding parks, and to help the company apply for grants.
"I think this is a really good cause, saving the Harmar Bridge," said Adam Weaver, one of the local vendors. "It's a historic piece of our culture here."
The festival has grown over its 40-year span, not only with the local involvement of vendors, crafts, entertainment and food available, but also in terms of money raised. Prior to 2021, the festival historically raised around $2,000 per year. In 2021, $90,000 was raised to support the effort.
Community members rally behind the funding effort and claim it brings Marietta one step closer to repairing the bridge.
"Talking to the organizers and everything they're trying to get done, their main driving goal is to bring the bridge back," said Kevin Paskawych, artist and community member. "Because they know if they get the walking bridge back it's going to revitalize this whole part of the city, because now you've got a direct artery (from) the historic downtown to the historic Harmar Village."
Organizers share the same enthusiasm as the community and hope to see a bigger community impact by showing what the village has to offer.
"The community support was fantastic," said Natalie Bradley, executive director of the Historic Harmar Bridge Company. "I really think that the community has wrapped their arms around this, they're a part of it, they support it, which is great for me to see."
The Historic Harmar Bridge Company has partnered with American Structurepoint, an engineering consultation agency, to develop not only the bridge but surrounding areas in Marietta.
According to American Structurepoint Senior Planner Phillip Roth, there are outreach efforts to gain community input. At the festival, diagrams and plans for different projects, including the bridge, were up for community vote, allowing citizens to weigh in on which developments they saw as the most important. There is also a plan to obtain funds for these projects between January and February of next year.
"We're gearing up towards a grant application with the U.S. Department of Transportation," said Roth. "The purpose here is to identify the projects. The projects are coming out of Enrich Marietta, the comprehensive plan, the public involvement we're doing, and the Appalachian Community Grant Program."
The Historic Harmar Bridge Company is searching for volunteers and donations toward their campaign. To find information on getting involved, check their website: https://www.saveharmarbridge.com/.
Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com.