Harvest Festival on horizon

Work on annual event unites members of the community.

By: Ken Weingartner
   ALLENTOWN — The Harvest Festival is more than an event for the community.
   It is a community event.
   Work on planning the festival, to be held Oct. 13-14 and sponsored by the Allentown Business Community Association, is practically a year-round undertaking, according to event Chairwoman Mary Ellen Fisher.
   And it’s a job that involves many people in the borough.
   "Right after the festival is over each year, we sit and talk about what changes can be made," said Ms. Fisher, who runs Mane Street Hairstyling on South Main Street.
   "In November and December, we concentrate on Christmas events, but in January the festival planning pretty much starts again," she said. "It’s surprising how long it takes. It’s just a couple weeks before the event, and we’re still finalizing commitments.
   "So many people work on the festival, whether they have a big or small job. Everybody does have a part in it. Most people have been doing it for years. It just kind of runs itself. It all falls into place like clockwork."
   Ms. Fisher said the festival will include approximately 50 vendors and crafters, 20 nonprofit organizations, plus entertainment and food. In addition to providing festivities, the event gives Allentown’s business community extra exposure.
   "A lot of businesses do some kind of promotion to see how many people come back from the festival," Ms. Fisher said. "With all the new development, a lot of people who are moving into the area come to the festival to show others where they’re going to live.
   "We’re not a little country-bumpkin town that you pass through on the way to the shore," she added. "We have a business community that thrives all year long. We’re a community where people live and work."
   Entertainment will include the award-winning Allentown High School Redbird Marching Band, the Crosswicks Historic Dance Co., the Libby Prison Minstrels, Vinny Smith and the Gobi Guru Band, the Monmouth Clogging Express 4-H group, the Riverside Ramblers bluegrass band, an antique car show, and a hot rod show.
   There will be a Civil War encampment in Heritage Park, children’s activities at the Old Mill, a cemetery walk and house-decorating contest.