Historical Rubonia Fall Harvest Celebration to take place Halloween

RUBONIA -- Derrick Randall remembers as a child looking forward to the annual fall festival in Rubonia.

On Halloween, a fall festival will return to the grounds of the Rubonia Community Center just like when Randall was a child.

"It was a lasting memory for me," said Randall, who is organizing the Historical Rubonia Fall Harvest Celebration. "I thought it would be something good to initiate."

From 2-6 p.m. Saturday, the fields adjacent to the Rubonia Community Center, 1309 72nd St. E., will be transformed into a fall festival complete with bobbing for apples, a hayride for kids, facepainting and some other activities. At the free event, there will also be trunk or treat, which is an alternative way of trick or treating where children get treats from the trunks of the parked cars.

"It's a community event and it also engages us as a community to come together and have fun," Randall said.

Randall hopes that today's youth will make the same memories at the fall festival as he did as a child.

"Hopefully it will inspire them to come back to the community and understand the importance of community," he said.

As a way to share Rubonia with the rest of Manatee County, Randall is also organizing a sign contest where community members will vote on a sign that will serve as the entranceway to the neighborhood, which is located off U.S. 41, between Palmetto and Interstate 275.

"Rubonia is that hidden secret," Randall said, adding that a sign will help others find Rubonia. "Rubonia is the best kept secret. It's the people of Rubonia opening their doors to Manatee County. ... We are trying to be an example of what can be done as a collective whole. We want to share our revitalization with Manatee County."

The Historical Rubonia Farmer's Market is another event Randall has organized as a way to share Rubonia with the rest of Manatee County. The farmers market is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every first and third Saturday of the month along Bayshore Road in Rubonia. The next one will be Nov. 7.

Simone Peterson, a neighborhood services specialist with Manatee County, has been the liaison between the county and Rubonia, working to bring them closer together as a community.

"Just trying to bring the community together through events," Peterson said.

So far, Peterson said it's helping.

"We are helping as far as promoting the events through our channels," she said. "By bringing them together as a community and having one solid voice, it helps us as the county help them. As a community, we want this. That's the big push we are going for in Rubonia and all other neighborhoods in Manatee County."

What the Rubonia community has been doing could be a starting point for a lot of other neighborhoods in Manatee County, Peterson said.

"You have to have one voice," she said. "That really helps when trying to advocate for things in your neighborhood. Rubonia what they are doing should be a model that should be replicated through Manatee County as far as getting people together and having one solid voice."

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 9:45 AM with the headline "Historical Rubonia Fall Harvest Celebration to take place Halloween ."