MOUNT CARMEL - As always, the focus will be on the downtown when the Mount Carmel Lions Club presents its 18th annual Oak Street Festival from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
But the Lions have a more rural spot in mind, too, with money they raise through the festival.
Already well known for its popular Holiday Meals on Wheels program, the club has undertaken the revamping of the former sportsman's club on Route 61 between Mount Carmel and Centralia, on land donated to the club by the Wightman family. The goal is to make it an outdoor recreation area for the public, complete with a picnic area, hiking trails and the return of fishing in Wightman's Dam.
"It's a large undertaking and a work in progress," Lions Club member J. Kevin Jones, former mayor, said Thursday. "Right now, the biggest issue is the pH of the water," which is being treated with limestone.
Favorable weather
As for the festival, it's proving to be a popular event and strong fundraiser for the Lions.
Covering two blocks of Oak between Third and Fifth streets, it includes entertainment, antique vehicles, crafts and a long line of food treats to kick off the summer festival season.
Organizer Deno Langis, now in his 10th year of running the event, is pleased by the weather forecast.
"It is shaping up to be some of the best weather we've had for the festival," he said Thursday about a call for partly sunny skies, a slight breeze and temperatures in the 70s, with only a 20 percent chance of showers. "It's the first good weather forecast we've had in five years."
"From crafts to concessions," there's a great mix of vendors, he said.
"We have developed a following of vendors that come back every year," he said, the Oak Street Festival fitting between the Spring Fling in Danville and the Renaissance Faire in Bloomsburg. "Every year, we get more and more people that want to be a part of it, from all over the state."
Picnic tables will be set up for eating and the entertainment at Oak and Fourth. Performances by Billy Dee and Rosie, Pet Rock, a demonstration by handlers as part of the Susquehanna Valley Dog Show and an aerobics exhibition by the children of the Motivation Station are planned.
"Those kids are the most popular attraction," Langis said. "Once they hear the music and the kids start performing, the crowd gravitates toward the center of the festival to watch them."
Giving back
The holiday meals program is the biggest benefactor of the festival.
"The Lions Club purchases all the food, prepares the meals and delivers them," Langis said.
The club also makes contributions to other nonprofit organizations, including those that provide eyeglasses to the needy.
And there's the Wightman's Dam project, which, like the others, requires a lot of manpower and capital. More members, and younger ones, are welcome, Langis said.
"We are all getting older," he said about current Lions, "but we are working hard, and the festival helps us give something back to the community."