×

Festival spans communities

Wednesday parade kicks off weekend events

A three-day, multi-community festival to celebrate the shared histories of Orbisonia and Rockhill Furnace boroughs and the East Broad Top Railroad is set for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The weekend marks the 260th anniversary of Orbisonia’s founding, and the 60th anniversary of the premiere of the EBT’s “second career” as a tourism railroad.

Festivities include a parade, pageants, a car show, historic displays, food vendors and short train rides, trolley rides and tours of the East Broad Top machine shops and roundhouse.

“In a year of remarkable challenges, it’s exciting to see our community, businesses and nonprofits joining together in a spirit of unity and joy,” said Amanda Jenkins, festival organizer. “We are ready to celebrate our beloved EBT and come together safely in fellowship.”

The celebration will be spread across three locations to allow plenty of room for social distancing — the Orbisonia Rockhill Volunteer Fire Company’s Homecoming Grounds in Rock-hill, the Lions Club Grounds in Orbisonia and EastBroad Top/Rockhill Trolley Museum headquarters in Rockhill.

Tickets for the train and trolley rides and the EBT tours are sold out, but visitors are welcome for the events and activities at the Homecoming Grounds and the Lions Club. Mask-wearing is strongly encouraged, in accordance with state recommendations.

The celebration’s opening parade will take place at

6 p.m. Wednesday. It will start at the Sandy Ridge parking lot off Route 522 north of Orbisonia. State Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, will be the grand marshal. The parade will wind through town to the bridge over Blacklog Creek,cross the railroad tracks by the EBT station, and conclude in Rockhill Furnace.

A vespers service organized by the communities’ churches will follow at the Homecoming Grounds.

At 1 p.m. Thursday in front of the EBT station, a ceremony will mark the 60th anniversary of tourist service. Among the participants will be Joe and Judy Kovalchick, longtime operators of the railroad, and Joe Kovalchick’s sister, Millie Glinsky, who in 1960, broke a bottle of ginger ale across the pilot of one of the steam locomotives, No. 12, to inaugurate operations.

Also on hand will be board members of the new EBT Foundation Inc., which acquired the railroad from the Kovalchicks in February. The foundation plans to reopen it for regular operations in 2021.

“We’re looking forward to showing our neighbors in Rockhill Furnace and Orbisonia and the rest of the county how much progress we’ve made in the past few months,” said Lawrence Biemiller, a foundation board member who is also the EBT’s communications director. “The railroad is very much a monument to the generations of Huntingdon County residents who maintained and ran the trains, kept the track in good shape and mined and cleaned the coal that the EBT hauled. It’s a National Historic Landmark that we hope everyone here can be proud of.”

Anyone interested in participating in the parade can call Sue Miller at 814-599-2830.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today