Fort Ligonier Days marches on as 'go-to' fall event for many families

Fort Ligonier Days is a homecoming for many who visit or participate in the annual festival — whether or not they grew up in the Ligonier area.

Members of Joyce Mowery’s family have been coming to the event for about three decades.

“This is kind of a tradition,” said the Clarksburg resident, who visited wine-tasting booths Friday on the grounds of Holy Trinity Catholic Church with her nephew, Jordan Hauser of Greensburg.

“It’s like new to me,” said Hauser, who was last at the festival more than 25 years ago, when he was 13. “It’s a pleasant surprise.”

They came to Ligonier with other family members — including Mowery’s mother, 97-year-old Josephine Meholic of Latrobe — on the first of the event’s three days.

The festival will kick into high gear today, when people will throng along Main Street to view an 11 a.m. parade.

Mowery prefers the less crowded Friday atmosphere.

“We enjoy it, with the food and the crafts,” she said. “You can buy stuff for your dog and stuff for your kids. They just have an array.

“There’s always something unique you can find here — whatever catches your eye.”

A Harrison City native who lives in Middletown, Michele Fleming made the trip back to Westmoreland County with 200 multi-colored gourd birdhouses to sell at the Ligonier festival.

“It’s one of the best of the big events I do each year,” she said. As a bonus, her sister and brother-in-law, who live in Greensburg, can help man her “Outta My Gourd” booth.

Business was steady on Friday.

“If it goes the way it has, I think I’ll probably sell most of what I have by Sunday,” she said. “I’m surprised by how many young families I get. They come and let their kids pick out what color gourd they like.

“The nice part is how happy it makes people. They’re always smiling when they come to my booth.”

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Fort Ligonier Days, now in its 63rd year, provides the perfect opportunity for Jennifer Coursey of Charlotte, N.C., to reunite with relatives in the Ligonier area. She traveled north with her parents, Bernard and Sally Gonda; her husband, Bart; and their daughters, Addison, 5, and Emerson, 7.

They’re staying in town all weekend to enjoy the festival and to visit with family.

“We just like to walk around and enjoy it,” Coursey said, noting, “All my aunts and uncles are here.”

While her daughters were looking forward to the parade, they had another priority Friday.

“The face painting is always a big hit,” she said. “That was the first thing they needed to hit.”

Her husband bought some kitchen cutlery from a blacksmith during a previous Fort Ligonier Days festival and hoped to buy another piece this year.

History on display

Emerson expressed interest in exploring activities at the town’s reconstructed 18th-century fort, where British troops held off an attack by French and Native American foes in a 1758 battle that is remembered during the festival.

Steve Rinehart of Forestville, N.Y., portraying a British artillery captain, will supervise fellow reenactors as they fire two cannons at the fort — during demonstrations at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Saturday and at 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday.

The cannons are reproductions of pieces that were in service at the fort during General John Forbes’ expedition to oust French forces from Fort Duquesne, the site of today’s Point State Park in Pittsburgh.

Rinehart and his crew will explain the finer points of how the artillery pieces were loaded, but he acknowledged, “Most people just come to hear the big bang.”

Some may wonder at Rinehart’s period attire. While colonial British forces were popularly known as the redcoats, Rinehart’s uniform is highlighted with royal blue.

“Not all British units wore red,” he explained. “Artillerymen wore the blue, and rangers wore green.”

Carnegie spouses Mike Kijowski and Kristen Rylander are among those who have come to the fort to bring to life the opposing French marines and militia.

“We have come from Fort Duquesne to pick on these guys here and steal their cattle, if we can,” Rylander said.

Involved in reenacting for about 20 years, the couple recognized the importance of bringing to light the part New France played in the region’s history.

Before the British victory in the French and Indian War, Kijowski said, “This was territory claimed by the French. They had been here for 80 years, trading successfully with the natives.

“We love to talk to people and share that history. And there are more people here on Fort Ligonier Days to share that history with.”

The festival’s opening ceremony included remarks from Megan Glista, Miss Ligonier 2022-2023. President of the Class of 2023 at Ligonier Valley High School, she plans to study biochemistry at Duquesne University and hopes to become a surgeon.

She’ll make another appearance in Saturday’s parade.

“I’m very excited for Fort Ligonier Days,” she said. “It’s beautiful weather, and I think its going to be a really good festival.”