Crickfest draws crowds to Coburn Park

COBURN — The Penns Valley Conservation Association hosted its 14th annual Crickfest in Coburn Park on Sept. 4. The name of the event, derived from “crick,” a slang term for creek, is appropriate — Elk Creek and Pine Creek both flow into Penns Creek at Coburn.

The PVCA fundraising event celebrates conservation of the environment and watershed, and attracts hundreds of citizens of Penns Valley and the surrounding area each year. PVCA board member George Kelly said he believed this year’s attendance was the largest in the event’s history, due in part to the perfect weather of the day.

The PVCA serves as a steward of the Upper Penns Creek watershed and all its communities. The organization works to protect and conserve Penns Valley’s waters, farmlands and forests by organizing and supporting activities that promote healthy natural systems and aid local economies.

Crickfest features live music, prepared local foods, a petting zoo and many fun and educational activities for the whole family. Several nonprofit conservation-oriented groups had display booths set up to inform the public of their activities and goals.

Profits from Crickfest help to finance the PVCA’s environmental education program in the Penns Valley Area School District, and several other projects.

Rubber duck races are a very popular event at Crickfest. Entrants in this event purchased numbered yellow rubber ducks, which were released in a swift-flowing section of Penns Creek. Prizes were awarded to the first few ducks to cross the finish line, about 60 yards downstream. Spectators cheered as the ducks raced downstream, riding the swift, midstream channel. Four heats were run hourly during the afternoon.

New to Crickfest this year was zucchini boat races. Using spoons and knives, entrants carved boats from ripe zucchinis, much like the dugout canoes of ancient times. Bamboo skewers became masts to hold sails made from large leaves. Some used pieces of cucumbers as outriggers for stability, and some were painted and carried a cargo of flowers as they raced down Penns Creek to the finish line, eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd of watchers.

A popular children’s activity at Crickfest is launching water rockets. The launch area had stations with a vertical piece of plastic water pipe with a rubber seal on the bottom. Each child filled a 2-liter soda bottle about a third full of water, then place it inverted on the pipe. The kids used tire pumps connected to the pipes to pump up the air pressure in the bottle, then pulled a string releasing the bottles, shooting them high into the air, spraying out a stream of water as they climbed.

When the right balance of water and air pressure was achieved, the rockets often flew higher than the nearby trees. Members of the Penns Valley High School soccer team ran this event.

In the park’s covered pavilion, a silent auction and a raffle were held, featuring many donated items, such as handmade home items, original artwork, gift certificates and several others.

Among the nonprofit groups’ displays, Lisa Marshall and Larry Wolken represented WSOV, the low-power FM radio station being established in Penns Valley. The broadcast studio and transmitter site is the St. Luke’s Cultural Center in Millheim. The group is currently raising funds for transmitting equipment, and needs about $5,000 to begin broadcasting. Wolken estimates the signal could reach as many as 12,000 people in the area.