Long-running Oakmont Street Sale continues to impress
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Oakmont had one of its longest-running events on July 30 when the borough put on the Oakmont Street Sale.
A local tradition since the 1960s, the Street Sale had a carnival-like atmosphere and featured a wide array of businesses and performers both from the Oakmont-Verona area and the Pittsburgh region at large.
This year’s event incorporated a classic car show, complete with DJ NP Power from Penn Hills spinning doo-wop favorites from the 1950s, and there was an impressive lineup of Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles, Thunderbirds, DeSotos and many more greeting attendees at the northern end of the event on Allegheny River Boulevard.
“Walking through all these beautiful classics makes me feel sad that cars don’t look like this anymore,” sale attendee Michael Powell said as he made his way along the line of classic vehicles.
Other entertainment was a second disc jockey underneath the clock tower further down Allegheny River Boulevard, as DJ Billy Mac from Wilkins spun more modern hits to help set the sunny mood for the day.
As usual, one of the biggest attractions was the food, with a dozen or so locations where patrons could sample local fare, including Atria’s Grill, Franktuary, Zen Asian, Leone’s Pizza, Oakmont Olive Oil, the Juicery at Oakmont, Novel Breads Co., La Tapatia Salsa, BP Grilled Cheese, and new-to-the-sale vendors Still Mill Distillery, La Vigneta Winery and Studecakers Cupcakes.
Studecakers is a cupcake food truck based out of Ford City owned and operated by Amanda Dingey, who said, “Today’s attendance is just phenomenal.”
The Still Mill Distillery, based out of Swissvale, was passing out samples and selling larger containers of its small-batch products.
“It’s been awesome to be here,” owner and operator Joshua Miller said. “There’s a huge crowd, happy energy, and it’s nice to see local businesses supporting each other. It’s a perfect day.”
For youngsters, the day featured an array of booths and activities for them to take part in, including Oakmont business Kastle Toys, which operated a kids’ art booth and offered 75% off many of the store items.
Other activities for children included the Riverview Children’s Center operating games and bubble blowing, Oakmont Presbyterian Church with a fish pond in which each participant could win a toy, and Redeemer Lutheran Church with a coloring area and free face painting. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman also had a kids’ booth with multiple games.
Youngsters also had the opportunity to meet the Disney character Buzz Lightyear, participate in Color-A-Brick art with street chalk and visit a petting zoo sponsored by Thermo Twin Windows.
Other booths included Greater Pittsburgh Tree Service, Gutter Helmet, State Farm Insurance, Soap By Bonnie, Bentley’s Dog Bistro, Magnolia on Main Boutique, the Oakmont United Methodist Church bake sale and the Oakmont Boy Scouts, who were cooking hot dogs on a flat grill and were charging only a voluntary donation.
Also making appearances were Embroidery from the Heart and Oakmont Embroidery.
“I’m so grateful and blessed to get such a warm and welcoming response from the community,” Courtney Hall-Powell, owner of Oakmont Embroidery, said of her first experience with a booth at the sale,
This year’s event had some help from Riverview High School students, partnering with the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce and earning community service hours as volunteers.
“They did a great job!” Kim Butler, who chaired the event, said. “We even had musician Kelsey Mayhood, a 2022 Riverview grad perform at the Sale. It was a great day.”
Chamber of commerce director Karen DeTurck agreed.
“The street sale, which was once again sponsored by Greater Pittsburgh Tree Service, was epic this year. With 80-plus vendors. It was just a great show of support for Oakmont. I’d like to thank the people who were instrumental in making this day a success. This was a total team effort,” DeTurck said, starting with Butler. “She was instrumental in planning the kids’ area along with coordinating all the volunteers.
“Speaking of which, our volunteers are the greatest,” she continued. ”They worked so hard to make sure the day was a success. Volunteer Paul Pasterik and his team did a fantastic job coordinating the car cruise which had 80-plus cars in attendance. It was quite a task to fit them in. I want to thank our members who graciously sponsored all of the entertainment for the day. I want to thank our first responders who brought their vehicles to display.
“And lastly, I’d like to thank the people who came out to Oakmont. This was one of the largest crowds I have seen in a long time. It brought me joy to see so many people having a good time.”