Eye on the sky: Rain Day events slated for July 29
For the Observer-Reporter
Participants in the Rain Day Festival’s umbrella decorating contest last year needed cover. It drizzled on and off during the festivities, which is exactly what organizers expected – and hoped for.
For the Observer-Reporter
Zoey Coneybear, 5, of Jefferson, was the first- place winner in the 2022 Rain Day Festival’s umbrella decorating contest. Coneybear is standing with festival mascot Wayne Drop and 2022 Miss Rain Day, Isabelle Tedrow of Jefferson.
For the Observer-Reporter
Will rain make an appearance on July 29? If history is any predictor, it likely will.
Come rain or shine, Waynesburg will celebrate its 150th year of tracking precipitation next Saturday.
Its residents are pulling for the former of those conditions. In fact, the Rain Day Festival, held annually on July 29, might be the only outdoor event in the country that’s considered a success if it rains.
And the odds are, it will.
It has rained on 117 out of the past 149 Rain Days, more than 78% of the time.
The festival’s unwitting founder, Caleb Ely, likely would be shocked to know that a casual observation he made in the late 1870s about it always raining on his birthday (July 29) grew into a nationally known annual celebration a century and a half later.
Ely, a farmer, commented to William Allison, a pharmacist at JT Rogers & Co. Drug Store, that his birthdays were marked by soggy, wet weather. Allison was struck by the remark and he started to record rainfall on July 29.
Allison’s brother, Albert, later handled the record keeping, and in the 1920’s Byron Daily took up the duty.
Residents of Waynesburg saw something in the tracking, and turned record keeping into a day of (hopefully wet) celebration in the borough.
This year’s Rain Day features live entertainment throughout the day on two stages, arts and crafts booths and vendors, food booths, children’s games, and contests – among them, Baby Rain Day, umbrella decorating, store window decorating and a coloring contest.
“Wayne Drop,” the Rain Day mascot, will spend the day high-fiving and hugging festival-goers, and posing for pictures.
Country singer Craig Wayne Boyd – who won season 7 of “The Voice” with coach Blake Shelton – has double duties at the festival.
He will be the headline performer, and also will take part in the annual Hat Bet.
The Hat Bet, too, has grown from a simple wager started by Byron Daily’s son, John, into a much-anticipated event that has included celebrities such as Muhammed Ali, Will Ferrell, Johnny Carson, Mister Rogers, Franco Harris, Bob Hope, The Three Stooges, the Dixie Chicks, Jay Leno, and weather prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil.
The rules: the mayor bets that it will rain, while the special guest bets it won’t. If it does rain, the mayor gets a signed hat. If it doesn’t rain, the guest wins a souvenir.
Said Boyd, “Special Events Commission, I would be honored to give you a CWB Gone Country cowboy hat; however, I sure hope it don’t rain us out.”
In 1985, NBC’s “Today Show” weatherman Willard Scott brought national attention to Rain Day when he took part in the annual hat bet and talked about the event on air (he won the bet, but sent the borough a Stetson cowboy hat anyway).
Special Events Commission Coordinator Athena Bowman noted the Rain Day hat collection would be larger, but several hats were auctioned in the 1980s, including Bing Crosby’s.
Each year, too, a new Miss Rain Day is crowned the Sunday before July 29. Local girls from the area compete in the scholarship pageant to earn the honor of reigning over the festivities.
According to the Rain Day Festival website, the rainfall observation likely would have remained a local event, but in the 1930s, Waynesburg newsman John O’Hara started sending Rain Day stories to other newspapers.
The festival was held online in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2021, the event moved from downtown Waynesburg’s High Street to Fountain Park/College Park and Monument Park near Waynesburg University.
The day-long festival encompasses more than four acres, with entertainment stages at Fountain and Monument parks, and dozens of vendors and artisans.
“We had one bad year during COVID when we went virtual and it wasn’t the same, but we still celebrated that day and counted that year. But, that gave us an opportunity to regroup and expand, and now that we’re at two locations, it’s more of a festival atmosphere. Rain Day is a family-friendly day,” said Bowman. “Everyone was used to having Rain Day on (High) Street, but we outgrew the street.”
Children’s activities include a balloonist and caricaturist, a magic show, and more.
Local businesses downtown also open their doors for the celebration, often running Rain Day sales and specials.
Much like crowds gather to witness if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, Bowman anticipates thousands of festival-goers will trek to Waynesburg on the 29th to see if it rains on Ely’s birthday.
Ely died in 1915 at the age of 85, and according to records it rained on his birthday every year until his death, with the first rain-free July 29 occurring in 1921.
The longest span that it hasn’t rained was five years, from 1953 to 1957, according to Bowman.
This year, the festival is adding a Birthday Bash celebrating those born on July 29. Anyone born on that day is asked to call or email the Rain Day Festival and their name will be added to a birthday banner, and they (or a representative) will be invited to participate in a cake walk – where cupcakes will be handed out while supplies last.
“Every year, we get phone calls from all over the country,” said Bowman, noting a Portland, Ore., umbrella company, Shed Rain, reached out this year to serve as sponsor of the downtown business window decorating contest.
Additionally, the festival will hold its annual moment of silence in memory of the 18 local Greene County soldiers who were killed in a battle in France during World War I on July 29, 1918. The soldiers, from Company K, 2nd Battalion, 110th infantry, are known as the Rain Day Boys.
Shuttle service will be available to the festival.
“We are excited to be celebrating our 150th rain tracking day, and we thank our sponsors. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do for our community, and offer all of the activities we do, without them,” Bowman said.
Bowman is optimistic it will rain.
“Of course it’s going to rain on Rain Day,” she said. “Hopefully we’re going to make it 118 out of 150 rain days. We recommend everyone bring a lawn chair or a blanket, and enjoy the day. And bring an umbrella.”
For additional information on the festival and a schedule of events, visit https://raindayfestival.com or call 724-627-8111.