BOARDMAN — A few short weeks after having moved to the area from their home in Menifee, California, Eric and Sarah Senges already have found themselves celebrating.

“Boardman has a lot of retail, so it was the convenience factor. (The township) is fast growing and business-friendly, and we’ve heard good things about the schools,” Eric Senges said.

The couple also plans to own a Grocery Outlet store on U.S. Route 224 near Southern Boulevard, as well as another one in New Castle, Pa., but for now, they were happy to celebrate these and other township offerings during Saturday’s annual Boardman Community Day in Boardman Park.

“We owned one in southern California for five years and we wanted to move east, so this is the first Grocery Outlet in Ohio,” he added. “We’re very community-oriented as a business. We wanted to live in a family-friendly environment and own a business in a family-friendly environment.”

The two-hour family-friendly, community-oriented event was an opportunity for people to embrace and celebrate the township’s uniqueness and what it has to offer, Karen McCallum, the park’s recreation and engagement director, noted.

The gathering was moved to Boardman Park last year to celebrate the park’s 75th anniversary, McCallum said.

Another major draw for Eric and Sarah Senges is the quality of Boardman schools because of their son, Wyatt, 4, Sarah said.

Also relatively new to the Mahoning Valley was Eric Senges’ sister, Karen Craven, who moved in January to North Lima from Maryland because of her husband’s job situation.

“You have a lot of hidden gems amongst all the conveniences,” Craven said, referring in part to the park’s numerous hiking trails.

Craven echoed many of her brother’s sentiments regarding the township, saying she appreciates its park and school systems, safety level and overall decent traffic flow, along with a general friendliness and small-town feel.

Ryan Granitto and his family may live in Youngstown, but that doesn’t mean they have no township connections. They often make forays into the park to enjoy its trails and other offerings, he said.

To that end, Granitto and his wife, Alyssa, brought their children, Layla, 1, and Lorelai, 4, to the community day gathering, where Lorelai was the recipient of added pleasure when she got to sit in and pretend to drive a Boardman Fire Department truck.

Other children such as Lylah Butera, 9, of Youngstown, were drawn to Kylo, a 4-year-old Belgian malinois that is the Boardman Police Department’s police dog. Also on hand was Kylo’s handler, patrolman Daryn Tallman, who has served 23 years with the department.

The dog was 14 months old when added to the department, Tallman recalled.

The festivities also included wagon rides along the main trail through the woods, face painting in the Elton Beard Family Cabin, several inflatable bounce houses and other activities and games for children, a snow plow to be painted, and visits from the police and fire departments.

Also on hand were several resource tables that included pamphlets on safe driving habits, traffic safety and the dangers of distracted driving. Meridian HealthCare handed out information about programs for problem gambling, medical assistance and stress and anxiety, along with resources and help for struggling veterans.

Providing the musical entertainment on the Maag Outdoor Amphitheater stage was No Funk No Justice, a band made up of Boardman High graduates who delved into several genres.