photo by: Gage Vota

Megan Moore draws caricatures Thursday afternoon during R.L. Strength and Conditioning’s fifth annual Summer Bash at Union Square Park in Bellaire.

More than 200 attendees packed Union Square Park on Thursday for R.L. Strength and Conditioning’s fifth annual Summer Bash.

Event organizer and R.L. Strength and Conditioning owner/operator Rick Leigh said that the attendance blew his expectations out of the water and couldn’t be more proud of the event’s success.

“We had a great turnout, all of the vendors did great,” Leigh said. “It’s good to see the parents, with all of their kids out having a great time. It’s unbelievable, and we’re doing it for the kids in the community.”

Leigh added that his vision for the bash has always been to have it at Union Square Park and doesn’t envision having it anywhere else in the future.

“This one puts our other ones to shame, and it’s met all expectations. This was my goal when I first started, I always wanted to do something in the middle of town for the people,” he said. “The people came out and showed so much love. We got classic cars, we got performers, we got food vendors. I mean, we got it all and everybody’s enjoying it.”

Mon Valley Wrestling started the event off strong with multiple matches from the area’s up and coming professional wrestlers, while Bellaire council member Bill Schmitt simultaneously kicked off the dunk tank as its participants first victim.

Following Schmitt, McGee properties owner Ben McGee and Useless Reality owner ​​Brady Sheppard took turns being submerged into the water on the extremely hot day.

Holistic Cloud staff member and member of the hip-hop collective “The Council” Matthew Cooper was the last individual to be dunked as the tank winded down for the evening.

The event also had free bounce houses for the youth and face painting provided by Natalie Lucidi, cartoon portraits by Megan Moore, several classic cars provided by Eden’s Classic Cars, and many more vendors.

The Bellaire Volunteer Fire Department set up a slip and slide for the children while also turning one of its fire truck’s hoses to a mist setting to give everyone a break from the blistering sun.

Leigh said that he couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate all of the hard work the children in his program have done by getting the entire community together to have fun.

“My favorite part is seeing the people happy and the kids with the parents, and grandmas and grandpas smiling over at the gazebo. That’s made me really happy,” Leigh said.

Uptown Flavor, the Dairy Jean, Sno Biz Rolling Griddle and Shreff’s Food Truck provided the food and refreshments while area musicians such as The Council, Ryan Dodds, The Hollow, Lil Rodd, Isaiah Keez, J Nice, Kidd Krazee, and more provided the music.

Leigh previously said that he started doing the event the same year that he created R.L. Strength and Conditioning as a way to celebrate the hard work that the children have accomplished throughout the program.