The 11th Annual Piazza Spring Festival Saturday has even more offerings for families, thanks to local business, Rely On Renton.

Saturday’s springtime celebration in the heart of downtown Renton will feature handmade arts and crafts, the Downtown Renton Poker Run and a new Family Fair hosted by Rely On Renton in the Pavilion Event Center.

“It’s narrow but diverse,” said Liddle of the scope of resources offered in the fair.

The Family Fair will feature a collection of resources for families with children age 2 to 14, from Renton businesses and nonprofits. There will be something for everyone, from information on preschools to after school programs for teens. More than 30 organizations will be represented in the Family Fair. Most of the booths will have freebies, crafts and activities for kids.

Outside of Renton Pavilion Event Center, 50 vendors will offer the city’s best in jewelry, clothing, items for children, furniture, cosmetics, food, and housewares. Children’s entertainer, Caspar Babypants, aka Chris Ballew of the band Presidents of the United States of America, will perform on the event stage. He will be joined by other acts such as dance, martial arts, music, and jump-rope artists. There will be door prizes, and free gifts for the first 400 families who register. Local nonprofits, such as the Seattle International Film Festival, Renton and Sustainable Renton will be at the festival. Renton Area Youth Services, Renton Youth Advocacy Center, and the Renton Parks and Recreation Department will be represented. Arts nonprofit Cry Out! will also perform. Food trucks, Bistro Box and Box On Wheels will also be at the festival. Retailer Eyes on The Landing is expected to do free vision screenings.

Rely On Renton was asked to help coordinate the Spring Festival with the Piazza group and brainstorm new ways to draw people to the event.

“We are a small business,” said Liddle. “We provide promotion for other locally owned businesses through our web site, social media and events.”

The goals of the organization are to connect Renton residents to local small businesses and nonprofits and to help businesses in Renton connect to one another and work on collaborating instead of just competing, she said.

Liddle, who operates Rely On Renton with her husband Ian, wants others to see the value of the city through the Spring Festival.

“It wasn’t the exciting draw that it was intended to be, so we started brainstorming ways that we could appeal to a new group of people,” she said. “Make it a really exciting and different event to bring more people into downtown, so they can realize what a beautiful and amazing place downtown Renton is. Because we really do think that it’s beautiful and amazing and has a bad reputation.”

The Liddles have a licensing relationship with the company Rely Local and use the company’s software to support Rely On Renton.