BY RUTH RICE
RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM
The fall harvest, handmade crafts and the simplicity and pageantry of the region’s history will be celebrated at some of the region’s most popular fall festivals.
Potatoes will be king at the 18th annual PotatoFest, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 26 on the streets of downtown Ebensburg.
“It’s all within walking distance,” said Christine Strugala, Ebensburg Borough community development director. “One of the main draws is all the potato foods. A new item this year is sweet potato pancakes. Every year, we have a new twist.”
The festival also offers potato soup, potato candy, stuffed baked potatoes, homemade potato chips, sweet potato fries and potato pizza.
There also will be nonspud fare.
There will be more than two dozen food vendors as well as numerous craft vendors.
A highlight of the festival is the Miss Tater-Mr. Tot Contest, which will be held from noon to 1 p.m.
“It’s for ages 1 to 7, and they’re grouped by boys and girls,” Strugala said. “The younger ones wear potato costumes. The older ones used to dress up, too, but this year they’re going to be judged on talent. That’s new.”
Applications for the contest are available at the borough office and online at www.potatofest.com.
Children’s activities at the Potato Patch, sponsored by Ebensburg Presbyterian Church, include face painting, potato crafts and games and a teddy bear clinic.
The donation is $3 per child.
At Memorial Park, children will get to experience Eurobungy.
“There are four different trampolines, and children who weigh 20 pounds or more can get strapped in so they can go higher,” Strugala said.
Other free activities at the park include face painting with Classic Clowns and a mashed potato hunt.
Potato sack races will be held on the hour from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Live musical entertainment will feature Flood City Brass, Broken Spoke, Ribbon Grass Acoustic, Ole ‘97 Johnny Cash Tribute Band, Two Far Gone, Martina McBride tribute by Natalie Sparks, The Boomers, The Sharp Tones, Rosie and the Jammers and The Conniptions.
Other entertainment will feature Bertolino Dance Company, Classic Clowns, Horseshoe Cloggers, Charlene’s School of Dance and magician Brian Foshee.
In conjunction with PotatoFest, the second annual Dauntless Fire Company Wine Extravaganza wine tasting will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the fire station, 209 W. Sample St.
Pennsylvania wineries and vendors will provide samples and products for purchase.
Admission to the wine tasting is $10.
Two shuttle stops have been added, Strugala said. The free Tater Express shuttle will be running continuously from Admiral Peary vo-tech, Penn Highlands Community College at the Ebensburg Education Center, Ebensburg Mini Mall and Lake Rowena.
Strugala estimated that between 20,000 and 25,000 attended the festival last year.
New Germany event
The 24th annual New Germany Arts & Crafts Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 19 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 20 at New Germany Grove, off Route 219 North at the New Germany exit.
This year, there will be more than 150 vendors, said Mary Lou Shrift, craft coordinator.
“We have no more spaces on the grounds,” Shrift said. “We’re as big as we can get.”
The festival features musical entertainment, food, children’s activities and crafts.
Apples at the core
Apple Cider Festival and Craft Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct 4 at Prince Gallitzin State Park, 966 Marina Road, Patton.
Demonstrations will include apple cider pressing and apple butter boiling, and there will be plenty of apple products.
There also will be more than 100 crafts vendors, 20 food vendors, pony rides, hayrides, chain-saw carving, environmental programming and entertainment.
Parking and admission are free.
Cresson heritage days
Cresson Area Heritage Days will be held Oct. 2-4 on Front Street in Cresson.
Harkening back to the days of the railroads, a hobo dinner will be served from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 2.
“There’s a tent set up and dinner is served in a bag – chili, a roll and dessert,” said Rose Pratt, who is handling publicity.
The entertainment schedule will include Clay Bowser on Oct. 2; the Singing McGuires, John Stiffler, Jerry Carnicella and the White Shadow Band and Christian rock with The Burning on Oct. 3; and a Tribute to Elvis, Charlene’s School of Dance and Michael O’Brien Band on Oct. 4.
“We have a stage set up for groups, and Front Street will be blocked off,” Pratt said. “We’ll have 40 to 60 craft vendors and 14 food vendors.”
A kid’s carnival will feature games, miniature train rides, bouncy activities, face painting and crafts.
There will be raffles for a James Harrison Pittsburgh Steelers jersey and a Steelers basket.
Activities at the Cresson American Legion will include a dance from 9 p.m. to midnight Oct. 2, a military drill team exhibit from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 3-4, and a workshop on the proper care of and respect for the American flag at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Oct. 3-4.
A car show sponsored by the Portage Cruisers Car Club will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 4, with chicken barbecue available at the Cresson fire hall at noon.
Brethren jubilee
Western Pennsylvania District Church of the Brethren Heritage Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 19 at Camp Harmony, 1414 Plank Road, Hooversville.
All the food will be homemade and provided by member churches.
Before the festival’s official opening, breakfast will be served from 7 to 9 a.m.
“We have some churches from as far away as Uniontown and Greensburg,” said chairwoman Shirley Baker. “We have some outside vendors, which is new for this year. We’re growing.”
Activities will be a wagon train and an antique car show.
“Children’s activities will include a petting zoo, a pump and jump, and some crafts for them to do,” Baker said.
“Entertainment will include the Steel City Quartet, Sisters in Christ from Maple Spring Church of the Brethren and the Love Tones from Mount Pleasant.”
The day also will feature craft and flea market booths.
Other musical entertainment will feature Daughters of Joy from Conemaugh Church of the Brethren, Chalk Art Talk by Kathy Forejt, and Sharon L. Honsaker from Fairview Church of the Brethren.
A quilt and basket auction will be held at 3:30.
“There will be a pastor’s bake-off, featuring cakes, pies and cookies,” she said.
Admission is free.
Farming in spotlight
Two festivals in Somerset County celebrate farming methods and equipment of days gone by.
The 101s annual Stahlstown Flax Scutching Festival will be held Saturday and Sept 13 along Route 711 near Stahlstown.
The festival offers demonstrations of the complete process of making linen from the flax plant.
There will be homemade food, crafts, antique farm equipment, live music, a Civil War encampment, a covered wagon encampment and a staged Indian raid.
Entertainment on Saturday will spotlight The Remnants, Harmony Scott, New Generation Bluegrass Band and Drums of Native Sisters.
On Sept. 13, an outdoor worship service will be held on the grounds at 9 a.m., followed by a praise group at 10 and gospel music from noon to 5.
Admission, which includes all demonstrations, displays, events and concerts, is $4 per person.
Steam power will be the method of locomotion at the 57th Farmers and Threshermens Jubilee, which will be held Wednesday through Sept. 13 in New Centerville, nine miles south of Somerset on Route 281.
More than 20 antique steam-powered tractors and steam engines will be fired up to parade daily.
The Grand Jubilee Parade will be held at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday. It will featuring marching groups, bands, fire companies and other organizations.
Steam-power demonstrations will include saw milling, shingle making and cider pressing.
Privies won’t be private at the Outhouse Dash at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Participants can bring their own outhouse or use one built by the fire company.
Other contests will feature apple pies, scarecrows, photography and arm wrestling.
A quilt show and sale will be held on the second floor of the banquet hall, and an auction of the 23rd anniversary quilt will be held at 3 p.m. Sept. 13.
Saturday will be Kid’s Day, and activities will include a pedal-power tractor pull and a hay-bale toss.
The jubilee is sponsored by and for the benefit of New Centerville and Rural Volunteer Fire Company.
Admission is $4 for adults. Children younger than 12 will be admitted free.
On Wednesday, admission will be $2.
Mountain days
Another Somerset festival will go back to the times when frontier settlers eked out a living off the land.
The 40th annual Mountain Craft Days will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sept. 13 at Somerset Historical Center, 10649 Somerset Pike, Route 985, Somerset.
More than 125 craft artisans, musicians and entertainers will interpret the rich frontier heritage of southwestern Pennsylvania at more than 100 booths and a dozen outdoor performance sites on the grounds.
Frontier crafts will be demonstrated by traditional artisans, who will ply their trades using wood, iron, fabric, glass, paper and other materials.
These include a cooper making barrels, blacksmiths and spinners, and dyers and weavers working with fabrics.
Frontier food will include potpies, apple dumplings and corn on the cob cooked in a kettle over an open fire.
Weather permitting, there will be free on-site parking at the historical center on Friday.
A weekend shuttle bus will transport visitors free of charge from designated parking areas on Saturday and Sept. 13.
Admission is $7 for adults and $4 for children ages 6-17. Friday school tours will be $3 per person.
Children younger than 5 will be admitted free.
Proceeds from the event benefit the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County.
Foliage festival
The 45th Bedford Fall Foliage Festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 3-4 and 10-11 in downtown Bedford.
More than 400 artists and craftsmen will display their handcrafted works along the streets and square in Bedford and at Fort Bedford Park.
Crafts will include pottery, woodworking, painted sweatshirts, dolls, baskets, dried flower arrangements, wreaths and handcrafted furnishings.
Visitors will see demonstrations of techniques in painting, woodcarving and quilting.
Musical entertainment will run the gamut from country, Christian, Celtic, blues, rock, swing, oldies, bluegrass, a cappella, a tribute to the Blues Brothers, funk, jazz, doo-wop, big band and a Rolling Stones tribute.
Also, The Vogues will perform at 2 and 4 p.m. Oct. 11.
Children will be entertained by magician Dennie Huber, pony rides, scarecrow making and Middle Earth Children’s Theater.
An antique car parade featuring more than 100 vintage vehicles will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 10.
Food favorites will be candied apples, apple cider, barbecued chicken and beef, hot sausage sandwiches, crab cakes, steak sandwiches, pizza, hot soups, french fries, kettle corn, hand-dipped ice cream, apple dumplings, funnel cakes and baked goods.
Parking, which is $5, will be available at Bedford County Fairgrounds and Old Bedford Village, with free shuttles running nonstop to the festival.
The fairgrounds is located on business Route 30 west of Bedford, and the village is on business Route 220 north of the downtown.
Highland games
The pageantry of Highland garb and military uniforms from the French and Indian War era will offer a glimpse into the past at two festivals in the Ligonier area.
Ligonier Highland Games will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Idlewild Park, Route 30, Ligonier.
Scottish traditions that will be showcased will be bagpiping, fiddling and drumming, athletic events including the caber toss and Scottish hammer throw, Highland dancing and Scottish country dancing, and a living history demonstration of the Scottish military.
There will be musicians from all over the world, Scottish breed dog exhibitions, and the Gaelic Mod, a competition involving Scottish Gaelic prose, poetry and song.
Vendors will display Celtic wares, such as pottery, jewelry, tartans, kilts and Scottish food.
Performers will be Highland Reign, a Celtic band from Indianapolis; traditionally influenced music with Callan; fiddling teacher and performer Elke Baker; and Pittsburgh’s Royal Scottish Dancers.
All musicians and dancers also will perform at a Ceilidh, a traditional Gaelic social dancing and dining event, to be held Saturday evening at Shepherd’s Barn in Ligonier.
Tickets are $35 for adults and $13 for children ages 2-10.
Admission to the games is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and $8 for children ages 12 and younger.
Children younger than 6 will be admitted free.
There also will be free parking.
A Scottish worship service at 10:45 a.m. Sept. 13 at Covenant Presbyterian Church, N. Market and Church streets, Ligonier, will cap the weekend.
Seton Hill University Pipe Band will give a free concert at 1 p.m. on the Diamond in Ligonier.
Golden anniversary
The 50th Fort Ligonier Days will be held from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 9, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 10 and noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 11 at the historic fort and on the streets of downtown Ligonier.
The festival, which commemorates the Battle of Fort Ligonier, will feature the renowned Quantico Marine Corps Band performing at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at Ligonier Valley High School.
“Their performance will be a big highlight,” said Rachel Roehrig, an event director. “We’ve had them almost every year for the last eight years.”
The band, which is made up of combat-trained Marines, is known for its ensembles, which feature a brass quintet, a woodwind quintet, a rock band, party band and a jazz combo.
The band also will participate in a community parade beginning at 11 a.m. Oct. 10.
The theme of this year’s Fort Ligonier Days is “Keeping Tradition Part of Our Future.”
“With this being our 50th Days, we wanted to keep tradition a part of it,” Roehrig said. “The battle re-enactments are very much a tradition.”
Re-enactments of the Battle of Fort Ligonier will be held at 2 and 4 p.m. Oct. 10-11.
Musical entertainment will feature Andes Mountains, polka, classic rock, country rock, a Beatles tribute, gospel, country and rock.
Chuck Blasko and the Vogues will perform at 7 p.m. Oct. 10.
Community food booths will line the streets, and more than 150 craft booths in three locations will be linked by a craft loop shuttle.
A free bus shuttle service will be provided from the high school.
Tipton celebration
Harvestfest will be held Sept. 26-27 at DelGrosso’s Amusement Park, Old Route 220, Tipton.
Craft and food vendors will begin offering their wares at 10 a.m.
Entertainment will feature Hubie the Clown; the Sharp Tones; a Civil War encampment; Wild World of Animals shows featuring reptiles, birds and mammals at 3 and 6 p.m. Sept. 26; and concerts by country star Ronnie McDowell at 3 and 6 p.m. Sept. 27.
An Antique Automobile Club of America show will be held Sept. 27.
A $4 admission fee will include rides and entertainment. Rides open at 11 a.m.
Altoona, too
Altoona First Festival will be held from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 13 at Lakemont Park, Altoona.
In addition to arts and crafts vendors, there will be an ethnic food village and many nonprofit food vendors.
Entertainment will include free monster truck rides, a children’s show and strolling entertainers.
Ricky Lee, Felix and the Hurricanes, Homegrown String Band, Sugar Bear the Band, and The Conniptions will perform.
A $5 admission fee includes an all-day ride pass.
