Sun shines on Autumn Mum Festival
Andrea Swan, a volunteer with the Connellsville Garden Club, sells mums at the third annual Autumn Mum Festival in Connellsville on Sunday.
Richard J. Finch Jr.
Cody Leapline in costume as Angel, representing the Angels of Mercy Animal Rescue and Adoption agency greets Macey at the third annual Autumn Mum Festival in Connellsville, PA on Sunday, September 9,2012.
CONNELLSVILLE — The Autumn Mum Festival made a last minute move from Saturday to Sunday, a decision based on a weather forecast that reminded the organizers too much of last year, when rain soaked the event and kept visitors away.
“We’re very pleased we moved it to today,” said Michael Edwards, president of the Fayette County Cultural Trust, looking up at a sunny late-summer sky Sunday afternoon.
Food, music, crafts, and tents with information about a variety of goods and services lined Crawford Avenue in downtown Connellsville from Pittsburgh Street to Arch Street. Children took advantage of the creative activities; several played together with painted faces and balloon animals and other crafts they made themselves.
Edwards said the vendors and bands slated to be at the festival Saturday were fortunately able to accommodate the change of plans, with only one vendor bowing out because of a scheduling conflict.
The Fayette County Cultural Trust has sponsored the event for three years, organizing the sale of chrysanthemums, which are flowers typically associated with the heralding of the fall season. This year the festival occurred about a month earlier than previous years, to give gardeners more time to appreciate the flowers.
The festival began at noon, and by 3 p.m. Connellsville Garden Club member Beverly Oppermann reported they were down to the last few dozen pots of mums. She said they started with 300 plants.
Downtown Connellsville, a project under the Fayette County Cultural Trust, will benefit from the sale of the flowers, Edwards said. The efforts of Downtown Connellsville to revitalize the city are manifold, he said: from the flower baskets adorning the light posts, to the hosting of the weekly Farmers and Artists Market all summer, to providing grant funding for signage an awnings for downtown businesses, and more.
Another organization dedicated to the improvement of the city, Believe in Connellsville, was on hand distributing information about their campaign to create a positive image for visitors and residents. The group’s efforts include weeding and cleaning up sidewalks in the city, and picking up litter.
Volunteer Judy Keller of Connellsville said the group is always looking for new ideas and volunteers who share a similar desire to add value to the city, and encouraged anyone who is interested to email believeinconnellsville@zoominternet.net.