{"id":21026,"date":"2026-10-09T01:50:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T01:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=21026"},"modified":"2026-10-09T01:50:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T01:50:20","slug":"the-seventh-annual-harvest-festival-coming-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/09\/the-seventh-annual-harvest-festival-coming-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seventh Annual Harvest Festival Coming Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Special to The Truth<\/p>\n

Grace Community Center (GCC) will host its seventh Annual Harvest Festival with a weekend of special events on Oct. 9, 10 and 11, marking 57 years of dedicated, mission-driven\u00a0service to our community, according to GCC Executive Director Elaine Tait-Page.<\/p>\n

The mission of Grace Community Center is to foster the health and wellbeing of children,\u00a0adults, and seniors through programs that promote food security, health parity, education,\u00a0career-readiness, and quality senior living.<\/p>\n

The core event of the weekend takes place on Sat., Oct. 10, from 1\u20135 p.m., and\u00a0features Family Fun, Food, and a Celebration of our Shared Future<\/em><\/strong>. This event is free and\u00a0open to the public.<\/p>\n

The Harvest Festival began as a community celebration of GCC\u2019s successes and\u00a0sustained efforts to meet the unique needs of Toledo\u2019s children, seniors, and families,\u00a0\u201cespecially through promoting the health benefits of growing and consuming fruits and\u00a0Vegetables,\u201d according to Nathan McCain, GCC Transformation Officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cGCC\u2019s gardens are built on simple truth: fresh, whole foods are the foundation of long, healthy\u00a0 lives,\u201d McCain continued. As chronic illnesses rise, GCC is growing and sharing nutrient-rich\u00a0produce that supports real wellbeing, he said. \u00a0During this Harvest Festival, McCain invites the\u00a0community to explore the GCC Urban Garden and see how fresh, natural foods can support\u00a0longer, healthier lives for families across our community.<\/p>\n

This year, the festival expands to include an opening reception. Stories of Impact: An Evening<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Honoring Our Shared Community Impact<\/em><\/strong>, is a private event on Oct. 9th recognizing\u00a0resilience, leadership, and the contributions of GCC families and supporters across Greater\u00a0Toledo. The evening will highlight stories of impact and recognize partner\u00a0organizations whose leadership and support empower GCC\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\"\"A new feature, A Celebration of Faith & Family<\/em><\/strong>, will take place on Sun., Oct. 11,\u00a0from 3\u20136 p.m. and is also free and open to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis inspirational fellowship is a time to celebrate our spiritual foundation, to a\u00a0acknowledge the legacy of founding director Betty Amison-Lewis, and to welcome\u00a0congregations from all denominations to join us in fellowship, unity, and shared purpose,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0according to Director Tait-Page.<\/p>\n

Fundraising initiatives essential to sustaining GCC\u2019s outreach services will be highlighted\u00a0throughout the weekend. \u00a0Board Chairman Bryce Harbaugh noted that targeted appeals, donor\u00a0packets, and other special efforts will be blended throughout the festival to support the\u00a0continued growth and impact of GCC\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cGCC continues to fulfill its mission because of the dedicated work of our board, staff,\u00a0volunteers, and the ongoing support of diverse individuals, groups, and community\u00a0partners,\u201d explained Elaine Tait-Page.<\/p>\n

GCC mission partners include United Church of Christ congregations, United Way of Greater\u00a0Toledo, the City of Toledo, the Lucas County Commissioners, Greater Toledo Community\u00a0Foundation, the John Jr. Foundation, MLM Charitable Foundation, The Andersons, Inc.,\u00a0The Toledo Rotary Club, Toledo Museum of Art, Mercy Health, ProMedica, the Area Office on\u00a0Aging of Northwest Ohio, Connecting Kids to Meals, Harbor Behavioral Health, Pathways Inc.;\u00a0PathStone, Toledo Grows, Ohio State University Extension, Foster Grandparents\/Senior\u00a0Centers Inc., YMCA, and Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so proud that the title Sponsor for the 7th Annual Harvest Festival is\u00a0The Lucas County Commission,\u201d Tait-Page noted, adding \u201cadditional support is being\u00a0provided by the Grace Board of Directors, Friendly Missionary Baptist Church, and The\u00a0Sojourner\u2019s Truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Betty Amison-Lewis, age 83, founder and former executive director of Grace Community Center\u00a043 years, passed away on June 11, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remain deeply grateful for her decades of leadership and service,\u201d shared Harbaugh,\u00a0GCC Board Chairman \u00a0\u00a0Amison-Lewis received special recognition in 2019 during GCC\u2019s 50th\u00a0anniversary celebration, and she will be greatly missed, he said.<\/p>\n

All Harvest Festival events will take place at Grace Community Center, 406 W. Delaware\u00a0Avenue in Toledo, OH (43610). \u00a0For questions or more information, please call (419) 248-2467.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Special to The Truth Grace Community Center (GCC) will host its seventh Annual Harvest Festival with a weekend of special events on Oct. 9, 10 and 11, marking 57 years of dedicated, mission-driven\u00a0service to our community, according to GCC Executive Director Elaine Tait-Page. The mission of Grace Community Center is to foster the health and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[250],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[368],"class_list":["post-21026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21030,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21026\/revisions\/21030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21026"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=21026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}