19 2022
community
JULY
p o t t e r m c k e a n
county
Austin • Coudersport • Crosby • Eldred • Gifford • Kane • Lewis Run • Mt. Jewett • Otto Eldred • Port Allegany Ridgway • Roulette • Smethport • Turtlepoint
Era File Photo Festival-goers enjoy the fireworks display at the last night of the 2018 Festa Italiana.
Festa Italiana is back! BY MARCIE SHELLHAMMER
The countdown is underway for the 2022 Festa Italiana, back at full strength and flavor Aug. 11 to 13 after a COVID-induced hiatus. Last year, the flavors of Italy returned — without the fanfare, fellowship and frivolity — with Festa To Go, with some of the popular foods available on a to-go basis. This year, the extremely popular Bradford event will open at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 11. And back again to kick off the festival is Stan Pecora, who will start the ceremony, followed by the Parisellas, who will sing the “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a cappella. The first musical act of the festival — The OCTaves, a 17-piece big band from Olean, N.Y., that plays from 6 to 9 p.m. — will perform the Italian national anthem.
As for culinary delights, Mary Ann Colestro of the Festa Italiana committee said all the old favorites will be back — meatball sandwiches, rigatoni, sausage sandwiches, pasta fasul, Italian wedding soup, Zuppa toscana, muffuletta sandwiches, eggplant parm sandwiches, pepper salad, flavored coffees, fried dough and the desserts – oh the desserts. “The La Stella Auxiliary will start a week from today making cookies, pizzelles,” Colestro said, explaining the tradition of working together in the kitchen of the Italian Club is being passed down through generations, keeping the rich history alive. “It’s really something to see,” she said. “These ladies have been doing this for years and years. They work from sunup to sundown.”
When asked to guess at quantities, she laughed and said, “We make as much as we can!” By the time the festival arrives, the ladies will have made specialty treats to sell at booths – “these are some really neat items you just can’t get anywhere else.” Colestro said the beer tent will be open starting Thursday evening, so people can enjoy a drink, some food and some good music. Festa weekend is a time for people to come home, for class reunions, for visiting family, for enjoying all that is special about the region. “We’ve heard some people haven’t been home in a couple years because of what’s been going on in the world,” Colestro said. “This is the perfect weekend to come home. We’re really excited to come
Pipeline explosion sets off wildfire in Clermont on Tuesday SMETHPORT — A portion of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline, located in Clermont, reportedly exploded Tuesday evening. Information is limited as of press time, however, what is known is that McKean County Commissioner Tom Kreiner was on-scene and, at that time, reported no injuries and that the fire was under control. He also stated there was a representative from Tennessee on scene and other personnel were enroute. According to reports, calls to fire departments
across the region start going out before 5:30 p.m. to an address on Wilcox Road. Stations were asked to provide manpower, UTVs, and other assistance for a “large wildfire.” The calls for assistance continued to sound throughout the evening. As of the time of this report, approximately five acres had burned in the fire. Later, after 7:45 p.m., reports were confirmed there had been an explosion along the Clermont section of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline. Calls to the parent
company KinderMorgan were not returned before press time. Early reports indicate the following fire departments assisted on Tuesday: Clermont Volunteer Fire Department, Hamlin Township Volunteer Fire Department, Norwich Volunteer Fire Department, Eldred Volunteer Fire Department, Mount Jewett Volunteer Fire Department, and Smethport Volunteer Fire Department. More information will be provided as details emerge.
back.” There will be activities for children, too, with bouncy houses and games and characters to take photos with. The entertainment schedule is full, with some new acts for this year. At 9 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 11, DJ Benzo will take over with entertainment, and will continue until midnight. On Friday, entertainment begins at 11 a.m. with Jim Ronan and Dana Jared, who will perform until 2 p.m. Taking over at 2 p.m. will be JD Casper, who will perform until 5 p.m. The band Marshmellow Overcoat will perform from 5 to 9 p.m., and Two for Flinching will entertain from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. On Saturday, Kokomo Time Band will perform from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by Billy
and the Neptunes from 2 to 5 p.m., Vinny and the Mudflaps from 6 to 9 p.m. and Rockmaninov from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. This year also means the return of the Festa Italiana fireworks at 10:15 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13. Colestro said there’s a point that she and the committee want to make sure people understand about the event — at its heart, it’s a fundraiser. “When you go to a booth and you are waited on, those people are all members of local groups and organizations,” she said. “That’s where all the money raised goes. Usually we have 30 or up to 50 groups that help us, from set up to tear down and clean up. We’ve tapped pretty much every resource we can.” She added that the committee can’t thank people enough for all the hard work put
into the festival. “Our committee is only about 10 people,” she said. And yet with so much generous help from the community, the event turns out to be a huge success year after year. Local businesses have donated to support the fireworks display, and many donations come with a personal note saying how the festival is such a happy memory for them. “We’re always so proud to be Italian that weekend,” she said. Then again, everybody’s a little bit Italian during the festival, and can show that with new merchandise for Festa Italiana, Bradford, Pa. Colestro added that anyone interested in volunteering should reach out through the group’s Facebook page, “The Official Festa Italiana in Bradford, PA Page.”
Major renovations at Ridway Sheetz to begin Monday
RIDGWAY — Project managers for Sheetz have informed Ridgway Borough Manager Mike Handley that contractors and materials were prepared to begin work on planned major renovations to the Sheetz store located on North Broad Street on Monday, July 18. Public Relations
Manager for Sheetz, Nick Ruffner explained the purpose of the remodel, which appeared to be a new store design which would include more of a “restaurantstyle experience,” including selfservice kiosks and additional seating both inside and outside the location. Also according
to Ruffner, since the remodel will have the doors of the Sheetz location in Ridgway closed for months, employees of the Ridgway store have been offered positions at other Sheetz locations. The store’s renovations are expected to be completed by December of this year.