They say when it rains it pours, and luckily for the West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival, the rain didn’t happen.
What did happen was the Wyoming Area play, the Pittston Area play, and the Cherry Blossom Festival all competing for the same weekend at the same time.
The Pittston Memorial Library will take part in the featured Community Organization of the Game with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders baseball game today. City of Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo will throw out the first pitch prior to the game’s 1:05 p.m. start. A portion of the ticket sales will be donated to the library.
Getting back to the Cherry Blossom Festival, it’s great to see great weather in the return of the festival held at its regular time on the calendar. Last year’s festival was held in September and it was cancelled in 2020, so it hasn’t been in the spring since 2019 and organizers are happy it’s back where it belongs.
This is especially good news since a late winter will not let us out of its grasp. Between the heavy winds and chilly temperatures, it’s felt more like early March than the beginning of May. Just last week, I photographed a high school baseball game and with the wind and wind chill, it felt like being in the late fall. It wasn’t pleasant for sure. Now that the weather is moving along, I will probably get out and shoot more sporting events for the paper.
May is a big transition month and once we turn the corner on this cold weather, then we will be back to full-time grass cutting, trimming bushes, golf, tennis and anything else we do in the great outdoors. It’s been said we are no longer in a pandemic and that’s a relief. We’ve actually fared better than they did during the 1918 pandemic that lasted three or more years. I’ll take it, knowing we moved out of it in two years rather than three. I don’t think I could have taken another year.
Speaking of outdoor activities, there will be summer picnics and bazaars to attend, outdoor events like Party on the Patio at the Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino, and just being outside instead of in will be great. And why did Mohegan Sun add Pocono to the casino name? We’re not even close to the Poconos. I’m not much of a gambler, but I do miss going to the casino now and then to just get out and stretch my legs a bit. I can’t tell you the last time I had a meal there either. Grabbing a meal at Rustic Kitchen was a fun thing to do and walking in circles around the casino floor was fun, especially when bumping into friends, new and old.
Last week I was at Dallas Area’s Wycallis Elementary School for a newspaper photo job and the morning announcements stated there were 23 days left to the end of the school year. After the secretary made the announcement (I was sitting in the principal’s office), she raised her hands and said HALLELUJAH! My reply was, “I wish I only had 23 days of work left.”
This past week I had the chance to talk to Jordan Consagra, former Pittston Area soccer star. Jordan is doing great running a few of his own businesses but just as important, he’s the president of the Pittston Township Volunteer Fire Dept. He told me this is the 100th anniversary of the department and they, along with Pittston Township residents, couldn’t think of a better time to bring back the firemen’s picnic, old-school style.
After ending the huge Northeast Fair in 2017, the fire department took a break from picnic fundraising in 2018 and 2019, then the pandemic hit in 2020 and 2021, so after a long break, the picnic will be back.
Jordan said the township residents are thrilled, the fire department is thrilled and they can’t think of a better way to celebrate 100 years than a good old-fashioned picnic. I can’t imagine how grandiose the Northeast Fair got, but maybe sometimes bigger isn’t better and don’t get me wrong, the fair was outstanding with the rides, food and entertainment. It will be a good thing for the fire department to regroup and start anew by getting back to the old.
There will be three days of fun and live entertainment and everything you can remember about the old set up more than two decades ago. You can read more about the Pittston Twp. Volunteer Fire Dept. picnic in today’s edition of the Sunday Dispatch. The picnic will be in June and that will be here faster than you think.
Congrats to the fire dept. on their 100th anniversary and good luck with the picnic!
Kudos also goes out to the City of Pittston for securing another grant, this time for $1 million to kick-start a walking trail along the Susquehanna River heading towards Duryea. Once all trails are completed and connected, there will be 70 miles of trails to walk, which is incredible. Mayor Lombardo told me in 10 years, you won’t recognize the Junction end of Pittston, which will be a giant transformation. I believe him, just look at the downtown.
Quote of the week
“Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson
Thought of the week
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Gautama Buddha
Bumper sticker
“Time is a game played beautifully by children.” – Heraclitus
