The city of Bowling Green and BGSU hosted Rally BG for the third year in a row, celebrating with the same charm from years prior.
Rally BG was held on Aug. 26, with plenty for attendees to see and do.
Students and community members filled the streets of downtown Bowling Green participating in various games and activities and enjoying the various food trucks and stores throughout the day.
“It’s a very small town feeling for having such a large population, which is really cool because we all (herself and her friends) come from smaller towns and it helps it feel less scary,” said a BGSU freshman studying Adolescent Young Adult Education.
The streets were closed off in the area for the event, allowing downtown to appear completely open for people to walk around and explore the stores. Free parking was available around the closed off area.
“It was really nice to see the roads closed off to see downtown in its entirety. You got to see the whole thing, and it was cool to see how everyone who was there truly wanted to be there. There was so much to see,” said third year Creative Writing major Gretchen Troxell.
The event was separated into two sections, leaving the afternoon for students and community members to enjoy activities and the evening to celebrate the Community Pep Rally.
The pep rally included live performances from the BGSU and BG High School marching band, the BGSU cheerleading and dance team and featured “performances” from BGSU mascots Freddy and Frieda Falcon.
Food from places such as Eric’s Icecream, Detroit Mini Donuts, The Tamale Guy, Manny’s Munchies and more were lined among the streets in the form of food trucks for the community to grab a bite to eat throughout the day.
Beyond the food, there were extensive amounts of outdoor activities like a zip line, climbing wall, archery and putt-putt golf – meant to accommodate attendees of all ages.
CycleWerks held their Rally Cup bike race, with a free ride from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and the race starting at 5 p.m. Participants in the race were able to store their bikes safely so they could enjoy Rally BG afterwards.
Students felt Rally BG was the perfect opportunity to help them get acquainted with the community and city, especially when first moving into college.
When asked about the charm of the Rally, some freshmen students explained some of what made it special to them.
“We’ve been taking in some of the local shops – the boutiques, the book shops, the coffee shops. It’s just really cool. There’s so much to do but each thing is so cool,”
The event originally started after COVID-19 in 2021 to help promote normalcy and to bring the community together, but has since become an annual tradition among the Bowling Green Community.
With a focus on local businesses, welcoming students back and fostering a connective community, President Rodney Rogers and Mayor Mike Aspacher also gave speeches to the crowds to update them on what’s to come for Bowling Green in the coming year.
