Families reap in fun, foods at annual Sewickley Harvest Festival

Folks from far and wide gathered to reap what was sown for the annual Sewickley Harvest Festival.

More than 115 vendors were lined up and down Broad and Thorn streets as part of the 32nd installment of the fall celebration presented by the Rotary Club of Quaker Valley and Kiwanis Club of Sewickley.

There were a plethora of jewelry and soap makers, wood crafters, bakers, clothing merchants and drink merchants. Vendors include Three Dog Alaskan Salsa, Mediterranean Gift Shop, Seasonal Creations, Wooden Welcomes, Crafty Campers, Birthday Skirt, Goofy Goat Glass, Wear It Well, Fur Kids Essentials and Dream Wild Jewelry.

Event chairman and Rotary president Scott Zahner estimated between 5,000 and 5,500 visited the town within the seven-hour event.

“I think it was a success,” he said. “We had a lot of compliments from both customers and vendors. We’re very happy with it. We were pleasantly surprised about how the mums sold, being that was our first year selling.”

The Rotary sold out of 75 mums as part of its fundraising efforts. Kiwanis sold a variety of beverages. Sewickley Academy, Quaker Valley School District Sewickley Valley YMCA and the Sewickley Public Library were also among the local entities to participate.

Sewickley police mingled with attendees and handled traffic control. No incidents were reported.

The borough and the police department also secured visits at the festival from the Allegheny County mounted police and other law enforcement agencies.

“I think it’s great for the town,” Mayor George Shannon said. “Our town’s just wonderful for events like this. We have a lot of merchants. We have a lot of space for things like this, and we have a history. Kiwanis and Rotary, they do a great job (putting this together.”

Cochran Hose Volunteer Fire Company opened the doors of its station and brought out fire trucks for families to explore.

Children were able to use a small hose to put out a faux fire on a wooden house with the assistance of firefighter Benjamin Eichenlaub.

YMCA chief executive officer director Trish Hooper made paper turkey hats for people alongside a large inflatable turkey to the side of the facility’s informational tent.

She said the festival is a great opportunity to connect with people outside of the Y and mingle with some jive turkeys.

Anthony Artisti of Emsworth watched as his daughter, Addison, 3, received one of those hats.

Artisti has done construction projects in Sewickley and is familiar with the area.

“Everything’s so lively over here,” he said. “There’s always something to do. You can get a nice bite to eat. We’ll go to the ice cream shop over by the post office. We’ll even come down to the parks. We just figured it would be nice to get out, get some fresh air today.”

Artisti was also joined by his wife, Courtney, and their newborn, Avery, at the festival.

The festival originated in the 1940s to help local farmers. It took place in a field near the Sewickley YMCA before being moved to the main streets.

Organizers said it was also previously run by Sweetwater Center for the Arts and leaned more heavily on the arts compared to food at that time. The festival was later dropped until the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs began working together in the 1980s to bring it back.