EBENSBURG, Pa. – A trip through the area’s history was experienced Saturday and Sunday at the Cambria County Arts & Heritage Festival.
The event was held at Duman Lake County Park and offered visitors the opportunity to reflect on their heritage.
“This is all about fellowship and showcasing Cambria County,” said Ronald Shawley, executive director of Laurel Highlands Historical Village, which hosts the festival. “It allows people to come out and have a good time.
“They can enjoy Duman Lake County Park, which gives our festival a homey atmosphere, and meet up with old friends and make new friends.”
The festival offered historical reenactments, dedication to veterans, military displays, a 16th-century living history village, wandering entertainers, an antique car cruise-in, an antique tractor display, train rides, live musical entertainment, crafts, nonprofit and commercial vendors, children’s activities and a basket raffle.
“We want to keep our various ethnic heritages and roots alive, and this festival does that,” Shawley said.
“Every generation, we lose a little bit more of our history, but we need to preserve it.”
Bert Ianson, with Brydonson Farm, of Coudersport, Potter County, offered attendees an array of maple products including syrup, nuts, sugar, cream and fudge.
“This is an old heritage festival where you can learn a lot of different things and how they’re done, and most of it is all homemade products,” he said.
Ianson said having festivals that celebrate heritage is vital to carrying on the craft for future generations.
“The maple industry is a dying art with people not wanting to do physical labor anymore, saying they’ll just go to the store and buy it, but it has to come from somewhere,” he said. “The heritage side teaches people where some of that comes from.”
Ianson said people at the festival have been inquiring about the maple industry.
“I had a couple who are planning to come up to the farm in March because they have some maple trees in their front lawn and they want to learn how to tap them,” he said. “We’ll take them out into the woods and show them how it’s done, so maybe then they’ll pass it to their neighbors.”
Johnstown-based Memory Makers offered festivalgoers custom slatwood photo art made using a photograph.
“We’ve been coming for seven years, and it’s getting bigger each year and growing,” said Lewis Freeman, a Memory Makers employee.
He said festivals that preserve area heritage are important.
“Everybody wants to know their background and the demonstrations offered here are really nice, too,” Freeman said.
“There’s a lot of enjoyment here, especially because we’ve had such beautiful weather.”
Patty Beilchick, of Heilwood, Indiana County, said she’s been attending the festival for many years.
“We love this festival, and it’s nice because it’s in the woods and you can enjoy walking through it,” she said. “I really enjoy the Civil War encampment and all the variety of the entertainment.”
Beilchick said tht if we don’t celebrate our heritage, we could lose it.
“We need to pass down the traditions and culture from the great-grandparents to the grandparents to the parents and to the children,” she said.
