T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Loop Festival Chairman Joel Traylor announced the 17th annual Loop Festival during Shadyside village council’s meeting

SHADYSIDE — Loop Festival Chairman Joel Traylor announced the 17th annual Loop Festival during Shadyside Village Council’s meeting Monday evening.

The festival will take place the third weekend in June, which has been a tradition for the past few years.

He said the festival will have live music, food trucks, amusement rides, games and car and motorcycle shows.

He then informed council that through a combination of sponsors, vendors and a grant from the Belmont County Tourism Council, the annual festival is able to continue to grow each year.

“We’re carried largely by the sponsors. Every year we make about half of what we spend on inflatables, so it’s vendors and sponsors that help to pay for it. We get a small grant from the Tourism Council every year, and so vendors and sponsors are a big deal for us,” Traylor said.

He added that the festival will have a new way to display banners that will let the village use them throughout the year.

“We have a bracket that will mount our light poles, and it’s aluminum. It’s got a stainless steel bracket to it. You see it in larger towns, so the aluminum bracket is large enough to go around telephone poles, much less our light poles, which are a lot smaller,” Traylor said. “There will be no rusting, you won’t have any ugly stains coming down your poles. This will mount to be double-sided on each pole. We have 21 poles that come through town. So we’ll mount these onto just below the flags, and then we’ll put a fiberglass pole to it. It’s got a pin that will lock the pole into place on the bracket. You can either leave the poles on, just pull the banners down. That would be the simplest way of going.”

He added that the committee wants to put the Loop Festival’s logo at the bottom of every banner. The banners will display the names of the businesses that sponsor the festival.

Traylor said the committee will be setting up the banners a week early, which gives the sponsors extra time to be promoted.

“Ideally, football moms can do this and basketball moms can do this, whatever the festival, America 250 festival, if you guys want to put some of these up, we’re working with a vendor now to get the cost down for us,” he said. “Sponsors pay $250 for the banner but it doesn’t cost $250 to make, it’s somewhere between $75 and $100.”

Future business owner Johnnie Bobek then addressed council. Bobek will be opening Iron Tiger Smoke Shop at 4113 Central Ave.

He spoke to council to inform it that he just signed a year-long lease with the possibility of a three-year extension.

Bobek said that he wants to create revenue for the village. He said that he spoke to Mayor Mike Meintel and has pledged to donate 10% of the business’s net profit to the village.

Council member Melanie Haswell asked Bobek what type of “smoke shop” he plans to open.

He explained he will sell natural oils, incense, cigars, drinks and THCA products.

“We will have just everything under the sun that can be sold. THCA, which is definitely legal, but like I said I just want to create revenue for the village,” Bobek said. “I see all these other towns have them and I feel like we will generate new revenue. I think that would help the village out tremendously.”

He added that he plans to advertise around the entire Ohio Valley, which would potentially bring more traffic to not only his business but other Shadyside businesses. Bobek said that his business will be strictly 21+ and no kids will be able to even enter the building.

“I don’t want to make this village worse, that’s what I don’t want to do,” he said. “Let’s work together, I’ve never done it before, so I’m up for any kind of advice.”

Meintel told council that when he and Bobek spoke, he informed Bobek that he supports his business and all local businesses coming into the village as long as they follow the rules and respect the village.