Fostoria Takeover planned this weekend

FOSTORIA — What started as a planned overnight walk across the city has quickly shifted into a community-wide event in Fostoria. The Fostoria Takeover, organized by local Dalton Sheets and a group of his friends, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday near the location where the Latino Fest is held. The walk around the city is expected to be livestreamed on TikTok by Sheets, who got the idea as part of an effort to improve his own physical and mental health. "Recently, I've kind of just been on a health journey, I guess, trying to better my mental health and stuff, so I've been walking and running," he said. "I'm wanting to do the 5K at the fest this year, so I've kind of just been trying to get my stamina for that." After talking with his friend, Sheets said he decided to post the idea online to gauge interest from the community. "I kind of realized that there's not much community stuff that really goes on around here much anymore," Sheets said. "So I posted on Facebook just to see what it would be like if people would be interested in following along. And boy, was I wrong at how many people would be interested." According to Sheets, posts about the event across multiple community Facebook groups generated more than 135,000 views and over 800 reactions within about two days. The goal? To simply to give people a reason to get out, meet others and do something different. "My big thing is, I was always super antisocial," Sheets said. "Recently I've been going through a lot personally, so I've kind of been putting myself out there and I feel like that's really important for everybody to do because it has completely changed my life. "I just think it's good for everybody to meet new people and kind of just get out of their comfort zone, do things that they wouldn't normally do, especially doing something that's healthy. And the weather is finally getting nicer," he added. The livestream is expected to include interactive challenges and audience participation throughout the walk. Sheets said viewers in the livestream chat will help decide some of the challenges and punishments during the route to help keep the stream engaging. Organizers also addressed safety concerns in a public update posted online, saying participants will have reflective vests, flashlights, portable chargers, water, snacks and planned breaks throughout the walk. Residents interested in participating are encouraged to remain aware of traffic and bring water, especially after dark. Sheets said anyone with questions about the event can contact him directly through Facebook Messenger.