Summerfest will offer horse rides, music, kids' carnival in Cook Township

Live music, a petting zoo and activities for kids are planned at the annual Summerfest, scheduled for Aug. 3 at an equine-assisted therapy center in Cook Township.

The event is set to run from noon to 7 p.m. at the Ligonier Therapeutic Center, 24 Stom Road.

Horse rides and hay rides will be available. A Kids Zone carnival will offer games and prizes along with face painting and a balloon sculptor.

Visitors can test their skills on a 35-foot climbing wall and their aim by throwing at the target on a dunk tank.

Music sets will be performed by: Acoustical Bruce, at 12:30 p.m.; Sweet Judy’s, at 2:15 p.m.; The Bricks, at 4 p.m.; and Gary Pratt, at 5:45 p.m.

Guests can capture memories of their visit in a photo booth. The Iceburgh mascot will make an appearance.

Food trucks will be on hand. Refreshments available for purchase will include snow cones, beer on tap and beverages from a bar.

Donations will be accepted to benefit the therapy center, which operates under the banner of the charitable organization Southern Tier Alternative Therapies (STAT). The center offers a range of services including hippotherapy, an approach that can involve leading a physically challenged person on horseback, providing the client pelvic movements similar to those used when walking.

The center announced it has received a $20,000 grant from the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and plans to use half of the amount to provide scholarships for about a half dozen kids to receive 12 weeks of outpatient occupational therapy services.

The remaining funds will be applied toward ongoing capital improvements at the center. In the spring, founder and owner Catherine Markosky unveiled a new round pen with a roof that allows for sessions with horses to be offered year-round, regardless of the weather.

She said the donation may be used to provide improved air ventilation for the pen or to improve a loft area in the center’s stables that is set aside for clinics and classes.

Staff at STAT use a model developed by the Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association, specializing in substance abuse and addiction counseling, suicide prevention, grief and family counseling, and working with at-risk youth, veterans and others.

For more information, visit statinc.org or call 724-593-4742.