By Nicholas Gallo, Staff Writer
After celebrating on W Main St. for 13 years, Bonagany will move back to St. Bonaventure University’s campus in 2018. Bonagany is a long-standing part of St. Bonaventure’s Family Weekend tradition and will be held on Sept. 22 for the 2018-19 academic year.
According to the event’s mission statement, the intent behind the festival is to build relationships between residents, the business community, local government and the university.
Rob DeFazio, director of the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership, said that, after this year, the committee that organizes the festival would be stepping down.
“The members of the Bonagany committee notified us prior, [after] the last festival, that they will be stepping down after this year,” DeFazio said. “There were many factors and I even met with the mayor, and it was mutually agreed upon that it would be time to bring it back on St. Bonaventure’s campus.”
DeFazio stated that there was no friction between the committee and St. Bonaventure when making this decision. He said Bonagany is not canceled, but there will be no festival on the main street of Allegany. DeFazio fully intends to continue hosting an outdoor family festival.
“There will still be music, a caricature artist, our school’s clubs and organizations will be outside promoting and we are still looking for more vendors on campus,” DeFazio said. “We really think that we can make a festive atmosphere on campus.”
Thomas Missel, interim vice president for University Relations and director of Media Relations and Marketing, said he believes the move can be positive for St. Bonaventure and the community of Allegany.
“Sometimes, events like these just naturally run their course, and moving this event back to campus just makes a lot of sense since there are so many more club sports playing on that day,” Missel said. “We’re so grateful to the village for the support they’ve provide for so many years and we’re confident that many families will frequent Allegany business over the course of Family Weekend.”
Sara Dezio, a junior strategic communications and digital media major, who has been around Bona’s since she was little girl, said she was surprised that Bonagany was moving. Most of her family attended St. Bonaventure and she said she has always been very active in the local culture.
“Allegany is where many local businesses are and you would think keeping [Bonagany] in Allegany would help promote them,” Dezio said. “I love the local environment; it provides (almost like a block party) and, for someone who has been around Bonaventure since I was little, I think it’ll be strange on campus.”
Dezio recognized that the move could be convenient for students, but she thought that the flow of the event would not be the same.
“I think locals would come to the festival since we are a college town,” Dezio said. “I mean, look at the Reilly Center during basketball games. It’s full of locals. The town supports St. Bonaventure and I don’t think this will stop them since Bona pride is far and wide.”
If students have questions about Bonagany, they can contact Robbie Chulick, the assistant director of the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership at tchulick@sbu.edu.
