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DALLAS TWP. — Hundreds gathered at Dallas High School Sunday for the Dallas Harvest Festival and Bicentennial Celebration.

The event, usually held along Main Street in the borough, was a huge success, according to Dallas Township Supervisor Liz Martin.

“The parking is better,” said Martin, adding that the high school was chosen for this year’s event due to the round-a-bout construction project downtown. “We used to have to get creative with the parking downtown.”

The event included more than 70 local vendors, artisans and farmers, which sold a variety of goods and food, and live entertainment.

Dallas Bicentennial Committee members Brian and Chelsey Tupper agreed that the high school was a great location for the festival.

“We had a great turnout,” Brian said.

“It’s nice that the school opened its doors to community for everyone to enjoy,” Chelsey added.

More than a dozen classic cars from the Hi-Lites Motor Club were on display in the parking lot.

“I approached Liz Martin and offered to bring a few cars to help the cause and she jumped on it right away,” said Ed Smith, Hi-Lites president.

The Dallas High School Marching Band opened the event at noon with a salute to the seventies. Other entertainment included skits from the Lehman Theater Troupe and Take the Stage Players.

The “Kids Corner” in the school’s courtyard, which was sponsored by state Sen. Lisa Baker, featured children’s crafts and games. The Back Mountain Bloomers also showed kids how to make bird feeders from pine cones and bagels.

The Back Mountain Railroad Club showcased a model train display which was a replica of the borough and surrounding area in its early days.

Ray Mancke, president of the club pointed out Raub’s Hotel, which burned down in the early 1940s. The hotel sat on the spot where the proposed round-a-bout will be located.

A gallery of photos of Dallas and its first settlers, as well as old maps, were also on display.

Thirteen-year-old Althea Cigan pointed to sheets of paper with charcoal rubbings taken from tombstones located in several local cemeteries. The rubbings were done last year by Cigan and her fellow classmates of the middle school teacher Harry Haas’ history class.

“We went on a scavenger hunt to find gravesites before the 1800s,” she said as she pointed out the names of some prominent Dallas families.

Lisa Nicholson, of Plains Township, said she was pleasantly surprised to discover the historical displays as well as the variety of vendors at the event.

“I bought a jar of sour cherry jam for my husband and scarf for me,” she said.

A new location didn’t keep area residents from the Dallas Harvest Festival on Sunday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_harvest2_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgA new location didn’t keep area residents from the Dallas Harvest Festival on Sunday. Fred Adams | Times Leader

The Irish dance team Connemara from Luzerne performs at the Dallas Harvest Festival on Sunday in Dallas Township.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_harvest1_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgThe Irish dance team Connemara from Luzerne performs at the Dallas Harvest Festival on Sunday in Dallas Township. Fred Adams | Times Leader

By Camille Sicolo-Fioti

For Times Leader

Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.