Published: July 18, 2008 01:42 pm            

Fun, food, fireworks at Mountain Days

By TOM LAVIS

TLAVIS@TRIBDEM.COM

Thousands of visitors are expected to mob Prince Gallitzin State Park and businesses around Glendale Lake for Mountain Days.

The event, to be held Friday through Sunday, is sponsored by merchants and Friends of Prince Gallitzin State Park who have scheduled a variety of events.

Terri Coccia, event coordinator, said the festival is a week earlier than normal to avoid conflict with the Clearfield County Fair.

“We hope to raise the number of tourists in the area by doing this,” Coccia said. “We had just over 70,000 inside the park last year according to our people counters, and that did not include the folks that never made it inside the park grounds, which we estimated to be another 30,000 visitors.”

Some of the events include mini-tractor pulls, scavenger hunt, live entertainment, fireworks over the lake, an open bass tournament to win a new bass boat, regatta on the lake, Mountain Girl contest, pet parade, hot-dog eating contest and an ice-cream eating contest.

A ’50s Night and Cruise-In from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday at Noel’s Drive-In for an authentic car hop gets things rolling.

People are encouraged to bring their hot rods and enjoy music, food and ice cream.

The hop will feature the nostalgic sounds of Felix and the Hurricanes at Sir Barney’s Restaurant.

For those looking for a slower paced activity, there will be a flea market, kids fest, petting zoo and miniature golf tournament.

Mountain Days now is the premiere event in and around Prince Gallitzin State Park during the summer.

“This event was brought back to the area in 2006 and has been building and growing as each year passes,” Coccia said.

She touted several new events, attractions and food for 2008.

“We have the mini-tractor pull, a pet parade, the Mountain Girl, petting zoo, a pig roast and corn boil and a scavenger hunt,” Coccia said. “I would have to say that the top three events would be Friday’s ’50s Night and Cruise-In, Saturday’s regatta and the mini-tractor pulls.”

The Glendale Lake Pontoon Association and the Glendale Lake Sailboat Association have declared an open theme for this year’s regatta.

“You will be able to see the boats from pretty much anywhere on the lake as they take a cruise from one end to the other,” Coccia said. “The best locations will be from Muskrat Beach, the Main Marina and the Crooked Run Campgrounds beach area.”

With all of the businesses that surround the park, people will find a variety of foods and treats, including pizza, wings, burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, sit-down dinners and hoagies.

A pontoon-boat tour of Glendale Lake will be available from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Participants will learn about wildlife, park history and features of the park while watching for wildlife.

The fee is $7 a person, but space is limited. Reservations may be made by calling the campground office at 674-1018.

Fireworks over the lake begin at 10 p.m. Saturday.

“The fireworks can be viewed from many locations inside the park, and at each location there will be a group of volunteers collecting donations for next year’s show,” Coccia said.

Information: (800) 747-1587 or visit www.mountaindays.org.



Event

What: Mountain Days at Prince Gallitzin State Park.

Where: In and around Prince Gallitzin State Park, Gallitzin.

When: Friday through Sunday.

Admission: Free.

        

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