The allure of Stinkfest in East Bradford remained potent despite a few hiccups this time around.
Organizer Kim Glenn told The Era a lot of people turned out for the event, but fewer than years past — likely due to the lack of Kiddyland rides.
The 15th annual Stinkfest was held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday on East Main Street, sponsored by the East Bradford Business Association.
“It was busy and it was beautiful, but it was a totally different kind of crowd,” Glenn said, indicating less families turned out. “There was a lot of disappointment about the rides, but we were disappointed, also.”
She explained the usual carnival provider double-booked himself and calls to myriad other vendors in Pennsylvania, New York state and Ohio for a replacement were unsuccessful.
“We tried, but we couldn’t get the right fit for a replacement,” Glenn said. “We’ll try again next year.”
Luckily, Bradford Area High School cheerleaders helped pick up the slack, putting on activities, including carnival games and face painting, Glenn said.
She thinks if everything would have gone according to plan, there may have been a great turnout because Stinkfest is now the only remaining leek-centered event in the Bradford area.
Also, the former draw of outhouse races had to be canceled due to a lack of participation, according to Glenn.
“There were only two entrants,” she said. “People were really disappointed about that, too, but I can’t twist people’s arms to make them make outhouses. We need the outhouses, and it’s just not generating any interest.”
However, Glenn said that attendees loved the food and live music provided by local rock band Witch Hazel.
“The vendors did well and they were happy,” she said, noting a few offerings included leek sausage sandwiches, cheese steak hoagies with leeks and authentic German dishes incorporating wild leeks.
After public tasting and voting, the winner of this year’s leek dip contest was Robin Wilson of Bradford. The contest was held in the Bradford City Fire Department firehall on East Main Street.
Another hit with the crowd were a miniature pony and micro pig that were on hand with the horse rides, according to Glenn. She said children enjoyed rides on the miniature pony, and people thought the pig — which was actually a service animal — was cute.
The Frances Sherman Auxiliary to VFW Post #212 volunteered to run the beer truck, according to Glenn, and WESB/WBRR did a live radio broadcast.
This year’s festival logo depicted three leeks, each representing a different event organizer: Glenn, Kathy Colman and Fred Cloud. The logo, always a “whimsical” representation of the event, was featured on hats, t-shirts and Zippo lighters for sale at the event.
Once again, Kristin Dillenbeck from the McKean County Adult Probation Department supplied individuals in the community service program to help with cleanup, and once again Glenn and other organizers were impressed.
“They were awesome!” she exclaimed, noting they continually clean throughout the day so there is less work to do at the end. “Those kids worked their butts off and they did a great job. They even got compliments from the vendors and the fire department.”
