Breezy day doesn't dampen Mt. Pleasant glass festival crowd

A cool breeze with an intermittent threat of showers Sunday afternoon did not prevent crowds of people from enjoying the numerous food and craft booths and entertainment at the Mt. Pleasant Glass & Ethnic Festival in downtown Mt. Pleasant.

“It was packed Friday and Saturday. People come from all over — Virginia, Maryland and Ohio,” said Jeff Landy, Mt. Pleasant Borough manager, who coordinated what was the town’s 35th annual fall festival. “We’ve been doing this for so long, that people know about us.”

The string of annual festivals was broken only by the covid-restrictions of 2020.

The festival stretched across about 4½ blocks on Washington Street and two blocks on Diamond Street, filled with about 28 booths and 100 craft and display tables, Landy said.

With all of the organizing required to put together the festival, Landy said the festival committee starts planning in March. What’s different about this year’s festival is that was organized without longtime Mt. Pleasant fire Chief Jerry Lucia, who also served as the town’s mayor from 1985 to 2021 and was fire chief for 31 years, until his death in December 2021.

Making preparations days in advance for the festival by making food they sell, setting up the booth, serving the customers and cleaning up is a labor of love, said Barbara Golobish of Mt. Pleasant, who organized the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church of Mt. Pleasant.

“We’ve been doing it for so many years. We spend many hours and days baking and getting ready,” for the community event, Golobish said.

Like a lot of other church-related activities, the booth was filled with cooks and servers, most of whom were of an older generation.

One of the younger ones helping out was Cassidy Cole of Mt. Pleasant, Golobish’s granddaughter.

“I think it’s always great to help out,” said Cole, a junior at Mt. Pleasant Area High School.

Attractions included pony rides by the Westmoreland 4-H Gaited Hoofs Club in a short alley, which drew a good number of customers, said Marsha Miller, one of the leaders of the 4-H club.

Among those enjoying the day were Samantha “Sammie” Martin, 10, of Greensburg, who was filling a small glass jar with colorful sand art and what booth owner Chad Armour of Lower Burrell said were small aquarium rocks.

Samantha, the daughter of Patrick and Kristen Martin, said the family likes coming to the glass festival each year.

“We’ve been going since she was a baby,” Kristen Martin said.