Selinsgrove Market Street Festival returns for 43rd year
Sep. 25—SELINSGROVE — Recent Selinsgrove Area High School graduates JaSayle Rivera and Adriana Oelberg stopped by school aide Paula Freed's craft stand at the Market Street Festival in the borough Saturday.
The young women said they were enjoying the festival, purchasing jewelry and hair ties and stopping to talk with friends.
"You see people you know and people you forgot you knew," said Oelberg, who attends Susquehanna University.
The Selinsgrove Projects Inc.-sponsored event had more than 140 food and arts and crafts vendors, live entertainment and games, said Carol Handlan, who organized the 43rd annual festival with two interns, sisters Meryl and Fran Czeponis.
"The weather is absolutely wonderful and it's a great turnout," Handlan said as she sat in the shade enjoying live music performances.
After strolling Market and a few side streets and checking out some of the food vendors and crafters, Jennifer Duperon and her five children ranging in ages 12 to 2 stopped at Asburn's Animals petting zoo on West Pine Street where 8-year-old Sylvia Duperon petted a llama and a small goat.
"This is something we usually do every year," said Jennifer Duperon.
More exotic animals were on display at Primal Arts Tattoo, 6 N. Market St., where owner Neil Harp stood on the sidewalk with a massive albino Burmese python named Polly draped around his neck.
Harp said he was greeting the public this way to let residents know his business — as well as Polly, a Mangrove monitor and a tarantula — will be relocating next door at 8 N. Market St. in about one month.
Eight-year-old Novella Hornberger and her 5-year-old sister, Zimri Hornberger stopped by several stands to get their face painted, purchase some jewelry, feed the animals and create their own colored stone geraniums.
"They're having some french fries" and exploring the vendors, said their mother, Sara Hornberger, of Middleburg.
After chatting briefly with Freed, Rivera, a sophomore at Bucknell University, said her attendance at the festival this year is one of the first as a spectator.
"I used to run a stand with my church and then with the school," she said.
Freed, who has had an arts and crafts stand of homemade items at the festival with fellow crafter Katrina Freed for the past several years, said it's an opportunity to see children and families "I haven't seen for years. I love it because it's home. This is what keeps small towns alive."
