Memorial Day weekend events in Boalsburg have joined the growing list of annual activities that won’t take place this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Boalsburg Fire Company’s five-day carnival and Saturday parade as well as the Day in Town celebration on Memorial Day, activities at the Columbus Chapel and Boal Mansion and the Memorial Day Run have all been canceled, organizers announced on Tuesday.
Virtual activities are being planned instead, including a potential live stream of the traditional 6 p.m. service on Memorial Day at the cemetery.
The carnival dates back to the 1960s and generates about $20,000 to $25,000 a year for the fire company, President Ken Corl said. But, he and organizers of all the Memorial Day events felt it was necessary to cancel.
‘In talking to the township supervisors and the Day in Town committee we all decided it would be in the best interest not to have it this year,’ he said. ‘My personal feeling is it’s just not worth the risk.’
The fire company will hold a barbecue chicken dinner sale starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 23, with $10 dinners available for drive-through pickup at the station.
‘The feeling is people want to get out and hopefully support the fire company,’ Corl said. ‘We think it will be a big hit.’
Memorial Day in Boalsburg dates back to 1864, when, as the Civil War still raged, three women — Emma Hunter, Sophie Keller, and Elizabeth Myers — decorated the graves of soldiers in the cemetery. It began a tradition and the start of Boalsburg’s claim as the birthplace of Memorial Day.
Harris Township Manager Amy Farkas said at the April 13 Board of Supervisors meeting that she believed it was likely the Day in Town celebration and other events would be canceled. Farkas said she and Jeff Fisher, chairman of the Day in Town, still felt strongly that the 6 p.m. service at the cemetery should continue in some way, given its 156-year history.
She found in reading a history of the service that community members carried it on even in years when there wasn’t a large event surrounding it.
‘It would appear that in the 1880s they had very small gatherings and in one instance the weather was so bad they noted ‘It rained so hard we just decorated the graves and went home,’’ she said.
Farkas said the township is considering using the money it had dedicated to the service to purchase flowers to be placed on graves. A small procession to the cemetery and service, with a limited number of invited guests, could potentially be live streamed on Facebook.
‘The very first service in 1864, it was such a time of grief in our community that it was a sign of hope for our community,’ she said. ‘I feel like right now there are a lot of people who are wanting some sign of hope.’
Updates on plans for virtual activities will be posted on the Memorial Day in Boalsburg Facebook page.
Other annual summer events that have already been canceled include the Nittany Antique Machinery Show, Bellefonte Children’s Fair, Central PA 4th Fest, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, People’s Choice Festival and Philipsburg Heritage Days. Some are working on virtual events.
The Bellefonte Cruise has canceled its traditional Father’s Day weekend events, but it might still be held in the fall.
State College Borough Council also has rescinded special activity permits for public events on borough property through the end of June.
Later on Wednesday the Pleasant Gap Fire Company announced the cancelation of its carnival, parade and associated events scheduled for July.
