Funnel Cake Friday by Sharpsburg-Aspinwall Rotary makes a sweet return

Sharpsburg residents who live near Kennedy Park are in for a sweet surprise.

The aroma of fried dough with powdered sugar will be wafting from the concession stand on Aug. 25 during an encore Funnel Cake Friday, hosted by the Sharpsburg-Aspinwall Rotary Club.

The event is part of “Music in the Park,” which runs from 5 to 8 p.m.

Also on the menu will be hot dogs, pierogies, fried dough and more.

Rotary member John Arch said local musicians will entertain the crowd and will include Wild Bill Cox, Kirk Thoma, Marty Gonzales, Donna Occhipinti, Braylee Pierce and Johnny Sundo.

The Rotary Club has been a mainstay in the community for almost a century, Arch said.

Founded in 1926, the Sharpsburg-Aspinwall Rotary Club has hosted bingo at the VA hospital in O’Hara, volunteered at Aspinwall Meals on Wheels, sponsored youth athletic teams and donated substantially to the Sharpsburg Community Library.

The group has paid for playground equipment, Free Little Libraries, elementary book donations and medical supplies. For years, Rotary’s global project was to abolish polio. Rotary International clubs around the world raised and spent several billion dollars on the effort.

Locally, the Rotary was known for frying funnel cakes during the now-defunct Guyasuta Days. Dozens of hungry people would line up for the festival fare, with the club selling up to 175 cakes a night.

Members revived the tradition in recent years to give people a taste of the fried treats.

“After being locked up because of covid, residents welcomed the opportunity to mingle in Kennedy Park and munch on funnel cakes on the first Funnel Cake Friday several years ago,” Arch said.

The effort also raises awareness of the Rotary and helps raise money for the group to support local projects.

The Sharpsburg Parks and Recreation Commission is the official sponsor of the event, and the musical talent has been lined up by Devin Russian.