14th Peach Festival sizzles
In spite of temperatures in the mid- to upper-90’s, about 1,000 people turned out for the 14th annual Oley Fire Company Peach Festival held at the Oley Fairgrounds last Saturday.
As expected, peaches with ice cream was the popular food of choice on a day that found volunteers and visitors sweltering. According to Kevin Bieber, fire company trustee and president of the event, attendance was down about 40% over last year, thanks in large part to the high temperatures. “It — the heat — was the main factor,” Bieber said, in explaining the disappointing downturn in numbers.
Yet, Bieber said, overall the event was a success, giving credit to the many volun-
teers who stood for hours in difficult conditions. “I give kudos to all the volunteers. What they did was great, and I thank every single one of them for their dedicated service in the extreme heat.”
Jillian Prout, and her husband, Ben, longtime Oley residents, were in attendance at the festival, which Jillian described it as a fantastic way to visit with busy friends and neighbors.
“The peach festival is a wonderful way for our community to come together and celebrate locally produced peaches. And it’s an empowering way to raise some money for something so important, our local fire company.”
“The food is very good, the music is fun and seeing our neighbors is great,” Prout said.
While many attendees waited until “cooler” temperatures arrived in the late afternoon and early evening hours, the event officially began at 8 a.m. with commencement of the 6th annual Bill Conrad Memorial Quoit Tournament..
Beginning at 2 p.m., the official event commenced with tractor pulls, kiddie rides and clowns. Antique tractors and farm power equipment and the car cruise -- featuring street rods -- were on display, and a free “dash plaque” was provided to the first 100 cars.
Most popular was the peach dessert contest, sponsored this year by Heartland Edge Associates LLC.
Winners of the contest in the adult division this year were Audrey Moyer, winning a first-place prize of $150; second place went to Mary Ellen Miller, winning $75; third place went to Alyssa Luft, winning $50; Michelle Rinker won fourth place and $25; and fifth place went to Christine Elliott, winning $20.
In the youth division, while judges deemed all of this year’s entries as “absolutely exceptional,” winners were announced, and they included: Ryan Moyer, who won first place and $75; second place went to Corinne Carlson, who won $50; third place went to Brian Moyer, who won $25; in fourth place was Geoffrey Nagle, who won $20; in fifth place was Leah Haas, won who $20; sixth place was KLynn Mohring, winning $10; and in seventh place was Kyle Moyer, who also won $10.
The evening culminated with a fireworks display and entertainment provided by the Twitty Fever Band.