The Big Twist party featured backpack giveaways, raffles, prizes, games and ice cream.
As students in the Rostraver Township and Elizabeth Township areas return to school this week, an event on Monday marked the end of summer vacation.
Big Twist ice cream parlor welcomed children from all over the world to a back-to-school party from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Located on the Elizabeth Township-Sutersville border at 2101 Douglas Run Road, the business typically hosts a car cruise every Monday. The event was held in the parking lot between Big Twist and Big E’s Restaurant, owned by Joe “Big” Eori, who purchased the property after selling his business, Big’s Sanitation, in September.
Eori said he wanted to give back to the community and encourage children to “stay in school and make something of their lives.”
“We always want to help kids enjoy school and go to school,” Eori said. “It’s been phenomenal. We’ll do it again next year and continue to do something for this community. It’s been great. I want to encourage these kids to stay in school, have fun and enjoy themselves. This is coming from a guy who stayed one day in ninth grade. If I can do it and these kids can stay in school, they can do it.”
The event featured a raffle of six bicycles, around 200 free backpacks to give away, prizes for the children to choose from when they spun a wheel, an inflatable obstacle course, games, a 50/50 raffle, a promotion, face painting, a DJ and more.
Sponsors included West Newton’s Moose Lodge 31, Mama Peppino’s and Letterio Distributing, as well as Angel’s Babies Daycare & Preschool, Elizabeth’s Township Sportsmen Association, Still River Designs, Speney Sales & Service Inc., Sutersville Moose Lodge 1358, High on the Hog and Allegheny Intermediate Unit.
The bike raffle and donations of backpacks and school supplies came from Prowaste LLC in Westmoreland County.
There were also various food trucks including Pappy’s BBQ, Station 189 BBQ, Liquid Vibes Coffee Truck and Cousin Maine Lobster, as well as soft serve ice cream – including cones, milkshakes and sundaes – from Big Twist that was fun for parents and kids alike.
The Rostraver Central Fire Department and the Blaine Hill Volunteer Fire Company from Elizabeth were on hand to allow the children to explore the fire trucks, as were the Elizabeth Township and Rostraver Township police.
The Rostraver Fire Department posted a picture of their truck on Facebook and thanked Big Twist for the invitation.
Tori Childers, who brought her children to the event, said it was a “great idea” and they had a lot of fun.
“This was such a lovely event,” Brit Tany commented on Facebook after her son won a backpack. “You made a lot of little children very happy!”
Avah Randolph, 16, of Blythedale in Elizabeth Township, is a Big Twist employee who helped sell raffle tickets.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and have been here since it was the Yough Twister. When I was little I always wanted to work here but then it closed for a while so I was upset,” Randolph said. “When I got older it reopened and I applied. I’ve been here since it opened and it’s really good. I love it. I have two jobs and this one is definitely my favorite. It’s really fun. I know every time I have a shift here I’m excited.
“(The event) was really good. We do car shows all the time, so I enjoy the games and stuff like that. It’s fun for the kids. These events are really fun.”
Randolph brought her 7-year-old sister Emma, also from Blythedale, who also enjoyed the event and received a free backpack.
Ronna Hayden, Big Twist’s general manager, said the company wanted to support the community during its first season after purchasing, closing, remodeling and reopening the site two years ago. She also had her children with her at the event.
“Honestly, we’ve gotten so much support from the community and I especially wanted to give back to the kids,” Hayden said. “That’s what we do for the kids. I was trying to figure out the best way to do that and thought I could throw them a back-to-school party.”
“I just want to thank our community for supporting us since we reopened. And I went there on a whim and I’m just trying to live with it.”
