Dropping more than rain: Rain Day to offer something new
Whether it rains or not, Waynesburg will be drenched with things to see, do and hear on Monday, July 29.
Starting with a Buckwheat Pancake Breakfast at St. Ann Church from 7 to 10 a.m., the annual Rain Day celebration, now in its 146th year, will include slews of live entertainment on three stages that will fill the air with music. This will complement a full slate of activities that continue throughout the day and end with a bang: an EQT fireworks display presented by the Starfire Corp.
Most of the activities, organized by the Waynesburg Special Events Commission, will take place on High Street with some spillover onto North and South Washington Street and South Church Street.
Waynesburg Mayor Brian Tanner said the 2019 Rain Day Festival promises to be the most ambitious to date. The planning committee has taken new ideas to expand the event and made them a reality.
“I’m really excited about the Umbrellas Over Rain Day Sky Project,” he said. “Umbrellas are so appropriate for our festival, and I’m looking forward to a great day on July 29 in downtown Waynesburg.”
New this year, the Umbrellas Over Rain Day Sky Project features an artsy installation of red, green, yellow and blue umbrellas over the sidewalk on either side of the courthouse. Hughie’s Event Production Services of Pittsburgh sent a crew of seven to Waynesburg on July 19 and mounted the umbrellas on two 54-by-12-by-18-feet structures held in place by 2,400 pounds of ballast on either side of the courthouse. The umbrellas will hang on a wire grid placed on the truss structures.
Joe Walsh, production consultant for Hughie’s, which is also providing the audio and lighting technology for the main stage entertainers, said his company did some research on former umbrella installations and discovered the first one took place in a town in Portugal that wanted to provide cover from the sun in its streets during a festival. From there, the idea caught on and was replicated in Paris, San Juan, Florida and Pittsburgh.
Rain Day attendees are invited to take a selfie under the installation, which will come down on Tuesday, July 30.
“The project is a little out of the box for us,” Walsh said. “We customarily build stages and provide the sound and lighting services. This project is a bit more artistic, and we’re excited about the opportunity to paint the sky with color.”
Those with a creative flair who’ve preregistered for the event will participate in the traditional umbrella decorating contest that takes place at 10 a.m. on the Lower Stage.
Pittsburgh Puppet Works will be on the Second Stage Lawn Area with shows at 10:30 and 11:15 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m. Other fun things to help keep everyone amused include a dunk booth, children’s games, a balloon artist and barnyard petting zoo, face painting and a Diaper Derby at 3:30 p.m. on the Lower Stage.
From 12:30 to 1 p.m, dancers from the Barb Moschetta Studio will perform on the Lower Stage followed by a presentation by American Judo Hapkido at 2 p.m.
Second Stage performers include Ella Kincer, the daughter of Kevin and Ronda Kincer of Waynesburg, who will sing the national anthem at 2:55 p.m. Ella takes voice lessons from Lucien Schroyer and has sung at several open mic nights.
John Hicks III will follow Kincer at 3 p.m., Jeweliana Whipkey from 4 to 4:30 p.m., Jessa Kenzi from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Tyler Jeffries from 5:30 to 6 p.m., Rick Gibson and Lucien from 6 to 6:30 p.m. and Two To Win, a musical duo featuring Evan Kovach on flute and John Bruno on guitar, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
At 6:30 p.m., a special tribute, salute and moment of silence for the Company K soldiers will take place on the Main Stage followed by the announcement on the Lower Stage of the winners of the Window-Decorating Contest, the Rain Day Baby Contest, the Boy Scout Donation and the Jack McCracken Award.
Headlining Rain Day is Eskimo Brothers from Nashville, Tenn., who will perform on the Main Stage from 7 to 9 p.m.
This year marks the 146th year of the rain watch. Over the last 145 years, it has rained in Waynesburg 115 times, with varying amounts of precipitation on July 29.