'Something for everyone' Festivals, county fair will highlight Labor Day weekend events

Aug. 25—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Whether it's a festival or a fair, there will be plenty to see and do in the area over the Labor Day weekend.

The Cambria City Ethnic Festival will be held Friday through Sept. 3 in the Cambria City section of Johns-town. It will feature traditional foods, craft vendors and free entertainment.

St. Mary's

At St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church, volunteers have made about 30,000 pierogi, 8,000 stuffed cabbages and 1,700 pounds of haluski.

There will also be hamburgers, hot dogs, fresh-cut fries, hot sausage sandwiches, kielbasa, homemade sauerkraut and cherige, a sweet Hungarian pastry.

"These are labor-intensive foods to make that people nowadays just don't have the time to do this kind of thing," said Monsignor Raymond Balta, a festival organizer. "These are foods that their grandmothers made, and people remember her making haluski, stuffed cabbage and pierogi."

St. Mary's pavilion, located at 411 Power St., is the center of many activities, including entertainment.

Scheduled performers range from pop to country to oldies to polka.

"The whole Cambria City Ethnic Festival is a sentimental weekend in Johnstown and a chance to reminisce about what it was like growing up in Johnstown," Balta said. "The festival is a reunion, and it's an opportunity to see old friends and make new ones. This is a Johnstown event. This is who and what we are with our history, heritage and traditions."

Ace's

Ace's on Chestnut Street will have a variety of options throughout the weekend.

The menu will feature lamb sandwiches, halupki, haluski, pierogi, panko-breaded chicken fillets, potato pancakes, apple dumplings and nut rolls.

"People come for our lamb. It's oven-roasted in old-fashioned style and marinated for a long time with our signature house recipe that has been passed down through the years, through Ace's history," said Dustin Greene, part-owner of Ace's. "The potato pancakes are popular. They are homemade with dropped batter, and we're frying them outside on a hot griddle."

Ace's will offer alcoholic and nonalcoholic frozen smoothies.

There will also be bottled beers and hard seltzers.

"There will be a wide variety of options," Greene said.

Returning festival favorites are frozen cheesecake on a stick and frozen bananas that can be hand-dipped to create shells of chocolate or strawberry.

Greene said the festival holds a lot of history and is a homecoming for the Cambria City neighborhood and community.

"It has been a staple for the area for the Labor Day weekend for decades," he said. "It's an actual street festival that's centered on one neighborhood, and everyone enjoys the homemade food along with the free entertainment."

ACRP's Irish Corner

Alternative Community Resource Program will host an Irish Corner at Chestnut Street and 10th Avenue.

ACRP has partnered with the Ancient Order of Hibernians to celebrate Irish culture.

"It seems like every year, the Irish Corner expands, with the number of vendors, music performances and attendance," said Bill McKinney, a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. "It has been a fantastic partnership, and we have just enough volunteers to put on a great event down at 10th Avenue and Chestnut Street."

The Irish-themed menu will feature shepherd's pie, Irish stew, potato soup, corned beef and reuben sandwiches, Irish macaroni and cheese, scones and soda bread.

"If you want home-cooked Irish food, this is where you're going to find it," McKinney said. "This year, we're doing a special on Friday night and trying bangers to see how people like Irish sausage."

Vendors include the Darlington Inn, Pappy's Family Pub and The Dixie Smoker, Roots Kitchen + Juicery, The Pie Shoppe, Funnel Cake Kings, Feight Family Concessions and WOW Fudge.

"There will be something for everyone," McKinney said. "It's a diverse offering."

There will be Irish craft vendors.

Music will include Blatherskite, Bo Moore, Dead Irish Blues, Full Kilt, Irish Pretenders, Reel Time and piper Tim Gatehouse.

"All the bands have some type of Irish flair," McKinney said. "We're really trying to support what our name is, so we're trying to promote Irish culture, food and music. We're happy to be at the corner to celebrate our past and our future."

Proceeds will benefit ACRP and AOH programming.

"This festival is Johnstown's homecoming celebration," McKinney said.

"We provide a lot of good entertainment, good food and a great venue, especially for families. It's a fun environment."

Bottle Works, VOMA

Bottle Works and Venue of Merging Arts are partnering to offer music at the Third Avenue Arts Stage.

"It's one of the missions of Bottle Works and VOMA to make sure that we have collaboration with the purpose of preserving and showcasing our artistic talents," said Melody Tisinger, Bottle Works' advancement and operations director. "We continue to offer something that's different with our kids' activities and a number of spaces on the Bottle Works property dedicated to families."

There will be an outdoor stage on Third Avenue, where people can listen to blues, oldies, bluegrass, rock, funk and Americana.

Performing Friday will be Midnight Acoustic, An Evening With — An Allman Brothers Tribute, Dream the Heavy and Paging Doctor Moon.

Entertainment for Sept. 2 includes Bo & Tucker Moore, The Renegades, Wonderlost, The Stone Bridge Blues Band and Jimmy Adler Band.

Performing Sept. 3 will be That Oldies Band, The Rusty Shackles and The Platelets.

"We try to highlight our local and regional bands," Tisinger said.

Artisan vendors will be indoors at Bottle Works and along Third Avenue.

A Kids' Zone will be offered at noon Sept. 2 and 3.

In Bottle Works, "People & Pop Culture," an exhibition by Matt Lamb and sons, will be on display. The show features portrait work, some of which crosses into the realm of fantasy, as well as superheroes and all things pop culture.

Attendees also can explore "Gatekeeper," an exhibit by Barry Poglein.

The show features work by the retired art teacher inspired by 50 years of family and friends.

Food vendors will be on Third Avenue, including Rosalinda Express, Gyro Joint, Island Cuisine, Jada's Jazz Cafe, Red's Texas BBQ, Kona Ice and Paddy D's.

"There's nostalgia associated with the Cambria City Ethnic Festival," Tisinger said. "People who have moved away have an opportunity to come back, but it's also for new people to the area to get a real understanding of the community, so that's what makes it special. It's a chance to see old friends and make new ones."

WorldMarket @ Ethnic Fest

Located between Fifth and Sixth avenues on Chestnut Street, the WorldMarket @ Ethnic Fest will be open 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Sept. 2 and noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 3.

Chad Pysher, co-owner of Stella Property Development and Event Production, which presents the WorldMarket @ Ethnic Fest, said that since starting the market in 2018, he and fellow organizers continued to see it grow.

"In its own way, it's a gateway to the center part of the festival," he said.

"We've seen the growth in the crowds who enjoy the whole area."

The market features 18 local ethnic vendors and merchants selling handmade and cultural items.

Food vendors will serve barbecue, tacos, seafood, cheese steaks, Caribbean fare, gobs and nut rolls.

Strings and Bellows will entertain Friday in the courtyard at Amerigo's and Cambria City Flowers, international sounds will be featured on Sept. 2 and polka music on Sept. 3.

Returning this year will be a children's carnival with rides and food.

The carnival will be set up on the Piazza Maria and feature seven rides geared toward youngsters 12 and younger.

"It was a success last year, and I think this year people are expecting it and have been talking about it," Pysher said. "We think we'll have a great turn out for it, and parents appreciate it, too."

A one-day pass is $10. Individual tickets are also available.

The Shrine and Garden of Our Lady of Mariapocs, Brigid's Cross, Amerigo's, Cambria City Flowers, Sitara Studios and Gallery and Alchemie, which are operated by Stella, will be open.

"This is a true neighborhood festival with people shopping, walking, eating, sitting, and there's music in the background," Pysher said. "Everyone associates certain things with good memories and feelings, and I think the festival really brings that out. There's a camaraderie with people seeing each other, and this is where people reconnect year after year."

Log House Arts Festival

Those attending the 52nd annual Log House Arts Festival will be treated to crafts, food, entertainment and children's activities.

The juried festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 2 and 3 at the Community Arts Center of Cambria County, 1217 Menoher Blvd., Westmont.

Craftspeople from Bedford, Cambria, Somerset and Westmoreland counties and four other states will display their wares.

"This is such an exciting time of year," said Angela R. Godin, executive director of the arts center. "Labor Day is already a special weekend of honoring so many who have done so much for our country, but to have a festival celebrating the arts at the same time is just profound."

The festival will feature more than 100 vendors, selling jewelry, pottery, bronze, florals, rugs, crafted wood and decor, tole, plants, fabric items, handbags, sweatshirts, furniture, Pittsburgh Steelers gear, metal artwork, slate artwork, soaps, candles, photography, paintings and wine distillery.

"This year, we have almost 20 new artisans and crafters with an extremely diverse cross-section of artistic and crafter mediums, as well as the dynamic participation of local performance artists, amazing musical entertainment, Iron City Aerial performers and the new performances from Log Art Dance instructors Sherry Lynn and Brian Harshberger, along with a fabulous demonstration from the Gray Saber Academy," Godin said.

Kids' Kingdom will feature creative arts and crafts activities.

The Sharptones will open the festival with doo-wop and classic rock music Sept. 2. The group will perform throughout the day.

Rosie and the Jammers will entertain with polka music at 10 a.m. Sept. 3, followed by Hard Rok, KoKo & Joe with classic rock, folk and rhythm and blues at 2 p.m.

Iron City Aerial, a silk-and-circus performance group, will be featured at 1 p.m. Sept. 2.

Other entertainment will be Razzle & Dazzle, the face-painting and balloon-twisting clowns; magic shows; storytelling; Gray Saber Academy; Log Art Dance; and visits from Spiderman, a unicorn, Pikachu, the green Power Ranger, triceratops, T-rex, Minnie Mouse, and Elsa and Anna from "Frozen."

The menu will feature choices from Red's Texas BBQ, Rainbow Food Service, Lambcakes Bakery, Perfectly Imperfect Pizza, Ultimate Stromboli Co. and Greenhouse Arcade Tacos.

A shuttle service is being confirmed.

"It is a true blending of artists, crafters, makers and fine artists," Godin said. "I am absolutely thrilled to be part of an organization that thrives on expansion and providing diversity of the arts for its community. This year's Log House Arts Festival is going to be such a beautiful artistic offering, adding to the quality of life for our local and regional community."

Forest Hills Festival

Family and community will be on tap at the annual Forest Hills Festival.

The three-day event will be held Sept. 2 through 4 at Berwind Wayside Festival Park, Route 869, St. Michael.

Festival hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 2 and 3 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 4.

Adams Township Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 is in charge of the festival.

"This is a community event for our Forest Hills area, and it's a homecoming for the Forest Hills residents who may have moved away and come home for the Labor Day weekend to meet with friends and family," said Paul Kundrod, chief of the fire company.

"This festival continues to grow.

"We're packed with people from one end to the other."

The arts and crafts show will feature more than 100 booths with vendors selling candles, yard signs, jewelry, clothing, artwork and seasonal outdoor signage and displays.

Each day, an all-you-can-eat breakfast will be served from 7 to 11 a.m. at the fire station, across the street from the festival grounds. Cost is $10.

"It's very popular and a great way to start the day," Kundrod said. "A lot of people have breakfast and then go over to the grounds."

There will be 26 food vendors of local churches and civic groups serving hot sausage, hamburgers, chicken wings, gyros, ham pot pie, French fries, barbecue meats, apple dumplings and ice cream sundaes.

Musical entertainment for Sept. 2 will feature Freedom Rocks at 11 a.m., Hard Rok, KoKo & Joe at 3 p.m. and The Rusty Shackles at 7 p.m.

At 1 p.m., Forest Hills School District will hold a parade to celebrate school pride.

On Sept. 3, Strings and Bellows will entertain at 11 a.m., Russell Wilburn at 2:30 p.m. and Three of Hearts at 6 p.m.

A fireworks display will light up the night sky at 9 p.m.

"We think it's the best show in Cambria County," Kundrod said. "It's a fantastic program. The town is completely packed that night with people to see the show, and it's a highlight of the festival."

Le Dance Academy will perform at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 4, followed by Tombstone at 12:30 p.m. and Johnstown Button Box at 3 p.m.

Bingo will be offered in the social hall, and there will be children's activities.

"It's a good weekend festival, and we want people to come out and enjoy themselves," Kundrod said.

The 131st annual American Legion County Fair will be held Sept. 3 through 9 at the Cambria County Fairgrounds, 833 N. Julian St., along old U.S. Route 219, one mile north of Ebensburg.

Fairgoers will see farm equipment, animal displays, rides, food vendors and demolition derbies.

"The fair is like a family reunion, and it's a place where you see people you know you wouldn't see again until next year at the same time," said Darrell Jones, fair manager. "It's the tradition of the animals, the food and the carnival, and you get all that wrapped up in one event."

Bullride Mania with professional riders is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 3.

"It's a really well-run show, and we're guaranteed 24 riders," Jones said. "There's also mutton-busting for the kids, and that's hysterical to watch."

Grandstand shows will include truck and tractor pulls at 4 p.m. Sept. 4; semi-truck pulls at 7 p.m. Sept. 5; quad drag racing at 7 p.m. Sept. 6; compact demolition derby at 7 p.m. Sept. 7; vans and V8 demolition at 7 p.m. Sept. 8; and KSR Motorsports Monster Truck Show at 8 p.m. Sept. 9.

"The demo derbies are huge and big draws for us, and it's usually standing room only," Jones said.

The $10 one-price ticket includes parking, rides, grandstand shows, livestock and agriculture events and exhibits.

"The fair is a family-friendly atmosphere, and there's something for everyone, so we hope people will come and support us," Jones said. "We've put all new doors on the barns over the summer, and we're trying to make it look better and nicer for everybody."

For a complete schedule of events, visit www.cambriacofair.com.