Pioneer Days fete called one of best
PERRYOPOLIS – Festival organizers are calling this year’s Pioneer Days one of the best in the event’s 14-year history. Though skies were gray most of Saturday with a stiff autumn breeze whipping through Sampey Park and the George Washington Grist Mill complex, temperatures were well above what they could have been for the first weekend in October.
Eldo DiVirgilio, president of the Perryopolis Area Heritage Society, which sponsors the event, said the improved weather and the new attractions this year have helped boost attendance.
“We have craft canopies and tents, an increased children’s area, and the music has been great,” he said. “Even the weather has been super.”
Saturday’s festivities began with a parade in the morning that featured bands, floats, Civil War re-enactors and even DiVirgilio himself serving as parade marshal.
It was not uncommon to pass folks dressed in period garb, while others in more modern attire could be seen chatting on cell phones, and others were busy sampling the wares of artisans or tasting some of the foods that were available.
People gathered to watch re-enactors, some even videotaping as soldiers marched and others prepared the campsites by keeping fires burning and pitching tents. Some, like a kettle corn vendor from Cranberry, got their first chance to experience Pioneer Days and mixed in with folks who have been there from the beginning.
DiVirgilio said the festival began when society members decided they wanted to restore the grist mill and came up with fund-raising activities to pay for their project. The fund-raising paid off in 1999, when the complex was restored with the help of some Amish folks from Dayton.
Proceeds from this and future festivals will help the society pay the remaining $12,000 in costs associated with the restoration, he said, noting that the community and business owners continue to be supportive, as they have from day one.
“We had three goals we set for ourselves: to restore the Grist Mill, to promote tourism to the area and to beef up the economy in the community and in all of Fayette County, and I think we have met all of them,” DiVirgilio said.
He said every year the festival gets bigger, with more to see and do, and the crowds seem to respond favorably as more is added.
Sunday begins with the return of one of the festival favorites, a buckwheat pancake and sausage breakfast, from 8 a.m. to noon in Sampey Park Pavilion. The breakfast costs $5 for adults, $2.50 for children 6 to 12 years old and is free for children age 5 and younger.
Civil War church services will be held at 11 a.m., followed by Acoustic Shadows of the Blue & Grey at noon, 3 and 5 p.m.
Three Rivers Gospel will perform at 2 and 4 p.m. and the Civil War Battle of Petersburg will begin at 2 p.m. on Jewell Knob.
Throughout the day, Colonial Camp Living History and Lenape Camp Living History will be held at the grist mill complex, Civil War Camp Living History will be offered on Jewell Knob, and O.K. Country will perform on the Cooper Stage.
The festival opens at 11 a.m. Sunday, and admission is free.