The Central PA 4thFest is billed as a day-long, family-oriented, patriotic birthday party.
In reality, it’s much more than that.
Starting off the day, the Firecracker 4K Race expects to have more than last year’s 1,100 entries. The race will kick off at 9 a.m. on the Penn State Campus. Runners and walkers of all skill levels are invited to participate. Registration is available at the starting area from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in front of the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office.
Since 1927, there has been a Fourth of July celebration in Centre County, according to the 4thFest website. At that time the Alpha Fire Company put on a carnival that continued, along with a parade, for the next 50 years. Eventually, increasing demands on the Alpha’s volunteer force did not allow enough time to devote to the Fourth of July Celebration.
The State College Sunrise Kiwanis Club kept it going through the 1990s. WXWW Radio and United Federal Bank together then took over the event in 1991. Dan Barker and his family produced the choreographed fireworks set to music. By 2000, the show had outgrown the ability of one family to handle all the work associated with its production. Travel Channel has described the fireworks display as “one of the best fireworks displays in the world.”
The Central PA 4thFest is now a non-profit 501(c) corporation with an all volunteer board and staff. Overall costs exceed $200,000 and are funded by corporate and individual contributions. A tremendous amount of work and volunteer hours go into the production and execution of an event like 4thFest.
Bernie Kiesling has been the executive director of 4thFest for 12 years and has done an outstanding job. The first meeting of the 4thFest board is held yearly just two to three weeks after each Fourth of July celebration — to begin the planning for the next year’s celebration.
“By September the choreography team and music teams are working and all that must be wrapped up by the end of December when we order the fireworks,” Kiesling says. “We will have over 600 volunteers this year by the time we do the fireworks display. We will have a total of 13,000 volunteer hours logged since Aug. 4, last year until 4thFest 2015. Every team right now is incredibly busy as they get ready.”
There are some new additions for this year. That includes some new fireworks and ground level graphics and designs that can be seen from the VIP seats. There will be a concert behind the fireworks area which stars Craig Morgan from 7:30 p.m. until 9 p.m.
“After that, people can turn their chairs around and watch the fireworks,” Kiesling says. “The concert and the extra ground level fireworks are well worth the $25 for a VIP viewing spot.”
Another change is that the 4K will run a different route this year. There will be two marching bands and one of them is coming from Eyota, Minn. Eyota is located along Highway 14 between Rochester and Winona. There is something invigorating about hearing and seeing a marching band go by in a parade! You can feel the vibrations in your body as the drums pass by.
Another band, the State College Municipal Band will be in concert at Nittanyville — where the students set up their tents before football games.
After the parade, lots of entertainment will still be happening. A total of 22 acts on three stages are signed up to perform. This is an all day event for the whole family. For more information, go to 4thfest.org.
If you see Bernie Kiesling, be sure and thank him for his years of dedication to this project. He is retiring and turning the reins over to a new executive director.
