Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant perfect setting for annual family festival
Mammoth Fest is “really the best of both worlds” for Melissa Bushik of Irwin.
She attended Sunday’s annual family oriented festival at Westmoreland County’s Mammoth Park with her daughter, Parker, as she has for many years.
“You get all the carnival stuff, and you get to be around nature,” Bushik said. “It’s a beautiful event.”
The 400-acre park in Mt. Pleasant Township includes a 24-acre lake surrounded by plenty of recreational areas and greenspace.
Parker, 6, particularly enjoyed the bungy ride. It was her first time trying out the attraction, her mother noted, since she was too young last year.
The pair spent some time with Bushik’s parents, Rich and Nancy Sanner of Jeannette, who staff one of the festival’s craft booths. Nancy sells jewelry and Rich displays art pieces he crafts with a wood-burning tool.
“There’s all types of music all day long, carnival and amusement rides and lots of things for the kids,” said Malcolm Sias, county parks and recreation director.
New attractions this year included a rock-climbing wall and a Nerf battlefield game, in which red and blue teams tried to capture the opponent’s flag while avoiding the enemy’s Nerf darts.
Jacob Swank, 6, of Mt. Pleasant Borough, worked up the courage to try the climbing wall with some encouragement from his mom, Katie Majercak, who has been bringing him since he was a year old.
“It’s gotten bigger and better,” Majercak said, thanks to the addition of extra carnival rides. “It’s about the community, everybody being together, having a good time and enjoying ourselves.”
One of the popular carnival attractions was a giant inflatable slide, giving local kids a chance to enjoy the thrilling plunge they’ve been missing since the park’s permanent giant slide closed in October to make way for $1 million in park improvements.
Sias said that includes two new big slides and a third smaller one for younger children. The slides should be installed in time for the 2020 recreation season, he said.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
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