DALLAS, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Wet weather is the last thing anyone wanted Sunday in Luzerne County’s back mountain for a popular festival. The 20th Annual Dallas Harvest Festival had to deal with showers one week after torrential rains caused flash flooding.
People in Dallas made sure to keep their umbrellas close by once again. However, the festival at Dallas High School was one mother nature wasn’t going to stop unlike several events last weekend.
Clear skies and sunshine are usually the type of weather that brings out a large crowd. And even though none of that showed up for the 20th Annual Dallas Harvest Festival, a big crowd sure did.
“Forget the rain, community is coming together,” said David DeCosmo of Plains Township.
They did as they always do, celebrating around a theme of the back mountain’s reputation for agriculture.
While you need rain to grow such things as pumpkins, flowers, and other plants, this event did not need any more so soon after what happened last weekend.
Both Dallas Township and Dallas Borough dealt with a state of emergency on September 9.
Storms caused flash flooding and significant damage and some concerns days before the festival was to take place.
“We checked the weather all week thinking it was going to be a beautiful day. The festival hasn’t actually seen rain ever and this is the first but whether it rained or not the community still came out to give back,” said Committee member Zeid Alhashemi.
That was the kind of attitude filling up the Dallas High School parking lot as people enjoyed some local retail, food vendors, and entertainment.
A few drops coming down could not stop performances both on and off stage by the Dallas High School cheerleaders and Mission Cheer Academy.
DeCosmo’s granddaughter was among the performers.
“This is the first chance we get to see her doing some cheering couldn’t miss it rain or shine,” DeCosmo explained.
Neither could others in this crowd, especially after such hardship just a weekend ago.
“We all support each other. We all help each other. We all come out and help each other whenever it is needed and it’s incredible to be a part of such a wonderful community and to be residents in the Back Mountain,” Alhashemi explained.
The festival also featured a back-to-school special with Dallas school teachers and other guests reading books to children and educating them on the importance of reading.
