NEW BETHLEHEM – The New Bethlehem Peanut Butter Festival is less than a month away, and members of the Redbank Valley Chamber of Commerce are putting the final plans together for the 30th annual event.
“They’re coming in from all over the place — the word is getting out,” chamber president and event coordinator Gennie Gerow told the chamber’s board of directors at the group’s monthly meeting on Monday. She said that a number of new vendors have signed up for the Sept. 18-20 festival, and many are from across the region and beyond.
As of Monday’s meeting, Gerow said 54 craft vendors had reserved 75 spaces for the festival in Gumtown Park, leaving only about 15 spaces remaining, which she expects to fill in the coming weeks.
On the food vendor front, she said all 21 spaces are full.
“We have a good lineup of food vendors this year,” Gerow said, adding that some new festival treats will include various flavors of chicken wings, deluxe baked potatoes, dirty sodas and more.
“We’re really getting full at the park,” she said of the available space.
Gerow also explained that this year’s festival grounds will be even larger than in previous years, as the chamber has secured permission to use the grassy lot across Water Street for a new bingo tent that will be operated by the organization. She said the bingo will be set up similar to the Clarion County Fair, with 25-cent bingo cards and winners pocketing 50 percent of the prize money each game.
In addition to the featured bands coming in Friday and Saturday evenings, Gerow said the lineup for the Sunday stage performances is now almost finalized, and will include students from Dancer’s Studio, the New Bethlehem Barbershop Chorus, and possibly two other musical groups from the area.
With the deadline to register come and gone, she said there will be three young ladies competing for the title of Peanut Butter Festival Queen this year — along with the scholarship money provided by the local J.M. Smucker peanut butter factory — and two girls entered for the festival princess contest. The winners will be announced on the stage Friday evening.
Gerow said sponsorships for the festival are still coming in, but that with this year’s title sponsor in the Charles P. Leach Agency, the financial backing was shaping up well to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the event.
She said that the chamber tent will be filled with some new merchandise options this year, including tote bags, coffee mugs and T-shirts, and that the tent will also feature a wide array of locally made Smuckers products and more.
Chamber director Michael McSparrin, who represents the peanut butter manufacturer, said that freshly made strawberry and grape Goober products will be sold alongside the popular peanut butter and honey product. A full line of other peanut butter products made in New Bethlehem will also be sold, in addition to products from other Smuckers factories across the country, including Jif peanut butter, jams and jellies, and more.
Chamber officials said the peanut butter products will be priced lower this year, with proceeds going toward the festival. Many of the items, they said, would be priced $2 to $3 each, with some listed at $1.50.
Festival events throughout the weekend will also include the parade and Jeep Invasion on Saturday, along with the car cruise, duck race and more on Sunday. An expanded fireworks show will launch Saturday night to celebrate the festival’s 30th as well as America250.
“Things are looking good,” Gerow said.