Festival-goers drenched in fun at 150th Rain Day
Jamie Menhart of Carmichaels escorts her 3-year-old daughter, Lettie, during the umbrella decorating contest at the Rain Day Festival in Waynesburg. (Photos by Mike Jones)
Miss Rain Day Abby Ray judges the umbrella decorating contest Saturday with the help of Wayne Drop during the Rain Day Festival in Waynesburg.
Amanda Foster of Clarksville snaps a photo of her children, Chloe and Caleb, as they pose with an umbrella in front of a rainy backdrop during the Rain Day Festival in Waynesburg.
A crowd gathers around the fountain in Waynesburg Commons during the Rain Day Festival on Saturday. (Photos by Mike Jones)
Staff writer
This year’s Rain Day was never in doubt.
Thunderstorms that rolled through the area Saturday morning didn’t dampen the spirits of people celebrating the annual Rain Day festival in Waynesburg. If anything, the early-morning wet weather enhanced the celebration in its 150th year.
With the morning showers in the history books – making it 118 days of rain on July 29 in the past 150 years on record in the borough – the clouds dissipated, and sunshine drenched festival-goers. People walking around with umbrellas meant to shield themselves from raindrops instead used them most of the day to offer shade from the sun.
The festivities started with the umbrella decorating contest, and 3-year-old Lettie Menhart of Carmichaels stole the show when she stepped away from her “snow globe” style umbrella to give Miss Rain Day Abby Ray a big hug as the contestants strutted by the judges.
Jamie Menhart, who escorted Lettie, helping to hold up her umbrella, said her daughter knows Ray from dance classes, so it was just natural for her to stop for a quick embrace during the contest.
“She loves Miss Abby. She adores Miss Abby,” Menhart said. “It was really cute.”
Ray, recently crowned Miss Rain Day, said such moments make her reign so much fun. Meeting new people and being a role model for young girls who looked up to her was especially meaningful to her, as many attendees stopped to say hello or grab a photograph with her.
“I’ve never met so many people before in my life,” the Carmichaels resident said. “The little girls who come up to me, it’s neat that I’m a role model for them to be (Miss Rain Day).”
This was the third year the Rain Day Festival has been held in the Waynesburg Commons park area sandwiched between the borough and Waynesburg University. Festival event coordinator Athena Bowman said the move from its typical location on High Street has allowed the Rain Day committee to expand the number of vendors and attractions, with a new kids’ zone this year that offered games and prizes.
“We took advantage of (the park space),” Bowman said. “We thought it worked out great. We really have outgrown High Street. Over the past three years, the committee was really able to bring a lot of new things for the event. We have a great crowd.”
This year’s Rain Day also got a little boost when the festival’s mascot, Wayne Drop, was invited to appear Saturday morning on The Weather Channel in a live interview alongside WANB-Radio personality Dougie Wilson.
“It was very exciting when they called,” Bowman said about The Weather Channel appearance, which was a first for the festival.
That kind of national attention and family atmosphere with food trucks, vendors, games, music and contests has made Rain Day a fun-filled festival for people in Greene County and beyond.
“It is neat. It’s something nice for the community,” Menhart said. “It’s unique.”