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THE ABINGTON s
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t en
The Voice of The AbingTons
Around Town
Green Scene
When a cute little Christmas tree grows up Page 2
Community Calendar
Plan some fun for the family this weekend Page 15
Times-shamrock communiTy newspapers 149 Penn Avenue Scranton, PA 18503 Phone: (570) 348-9185 Fax: (570) 207-3448
September 24, 2015
www.abingtonsuburban.com
Celebrating the Change of Season
ON THE INSIDE The lastest happenings in our area Page 4
SUBURBAN
Harvest Moon Festival this weekend
by Cathleen Lathrop
SPECIAL TO THE ABINGTON SUBURBAN
Autumn has officially begun, and the new season invites everyone to celebrate the crisp and colorful changes. What better way to welcome fall than by getting together with family and friends to enjoy food, crafts, games and music at a beautiful local park? The Abington Area Joint Recreation Board (AAJRB) is sponsoring the fourth annual Hillside Harvest Moon Festival, where attendees can find all of that and more. The Hillside Harvest Moon Festival is a family-oriented, free event that will be held Sunday, Sept. 27, noon to 5 p.m. at the 100-acre Hillside Park on Winola Road in Clarks Summit. The Harvest Moon the event is named after occurs on a different date each year. However, this year both the Harvest Moon and a lunar eclipse are on the night of the event. AAJRB Clarks Green representative, Diane Vietz explained that the festival this year can be both for fun and for buying goods. “It’s one stop shopping for fun with a beautiful backdrop,” Vietz said. “There will be five hours of free live music that will appeal to all ages. Mums will be for sale from the Greenhouse Project. There will be fun activities for kids, and people can purchase fall decorations or holiday gifts from the vendors.” Each year the AAJRB has tried to feature something unique at the festival. This year one such event is the rubber duck hunt, organized by Kenneth Lee of Clarks Summit. “The desire was to make better use of the lake during the Harvest Moon Festival and we thought we should focus on having something fun that could allow a lot of people to participate and watch,” said Lee. Sign ups for the rubber duck hunt will be at
noon. The event is $5 per member. The rubber ducks will match each teams color and be released into the lake. Then team members will be provided canoes to retrieve their matching ducks. Each duck will provide a clue, and team members on land will decipher them to complete the scavenger hunt. The first team that retrieves all of their items will win a prize. The Abington Area Girls’ Softball League (AAGSL) is hosting its inaugural fall ball showcase as part of the festival. The AAGSL is in the middle of its softball season. They have scheduled several games on the nearby fields during the Harvest Moon Festival, to draw more people to the park. “Those coming to watch their girls play softball will be able to enjoy the other amenities, while those coming for other reasons can watch our girls play,” said David Phillips of Waverly, president of the AAGSL. This year there will be approximately 30 vendors on the dam, with a wide variety of items ranging from food, local artists’ works, jewelry, clothing and more. Gina McCabe of South Abington Township is the chair of the vendors. McCabe expects the variety of vendors will attract more people. “We opted to increase the number of vendors in a hope to draw in more of the community,” she said. McCabe also organized a raffle, and tickets can be purchased throughout the event. Vendors donated items that will be on display and raffled off at the end of the festival. Participants do not need to be present to win. Local live music talent will include Tom Rogo, guitar soloist, from noon to 1 p.m., Hickory Project 1:30-3 p.m. and Phyllis Hopkins Electric Trio 3:30-5 p.m. Vietz commented on the hard work of so many people needed to organize such a successful event.
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Families decorated pumpkins at last year’s festival.
“It’s a beautiful collaboration of all of the different park families,” she said. “It has grown. Without their support it would be an insurmountable effort. It’s something that’s now easy to plan because everyone, like a big family, does their part. It has become a great event thanks to everyone.”
Hillside Park is a volunteer-managed park supported by Clarks Green, Clarks Summit, Glenburn, South Abington Township, and Waverly municipal governments. For more information about the Hillside Park and its events or to volunteer, visit hillsidepark.net.
Clarks Summit - 215 S. State St., Clarks Summit, PA 18411 570-587-2272 Scranton - 1726 N Keyser Ave., Scranton, PA 18508; Keyser Oak Shopping Ctr 570-207-0900 Locations also in: Carbondale, Montrose, Tunkhannock, Honesdale, Dallas and Wyoming All Locations Hours: Monday - Friday: 9am - 6pm • Saturday: 9am - 1pm