SWEET VALLEY, Pa. — The sun shined above the Annual Sweet Valley Firemen's Memorial Day Weekend Fair and Parade, much to the delight of Assistant Fire Chief John Oley.
"Finally, a nice day," said Oley. "It's been a rough weekend with cold temperatures and rain. Being our biggest day, we're open all day from 10 to eight o'clock tonight. We're looking forward to the sun and looking forward to see a lot of happy faces out."
Happy faces like Olivia's with something she won at the fair.
"I got to some fishies, and I went on the ride, and I went on a slide, and I like the parade and the fair," said Olivia Benscoter of Tunkhannock.
Assistant Chief Oley says he wasn't sure he would see any happy faces at the fair this weekend. The fair that the fire company depends on as the biggest fundraiser for its general fund.
"Friday was dreadful," said Oley. "It was horrible. It wasn't only rain. It was cold, and after, we had a real good Thursday night because people were excited to get back out. We were kind of hoping for the same thing Friday, but it Friday hurt us a lot with the weather."
But the sunshine turned things around for the department and attendees alike.
"Yeah, it's a lot nicer today than it was yesterday," said Bill Holena of Harveys Lake.
"Just to get out and enjoy the sunshine, enjoy your carnival. This is my fourth time here coming to the Sweet Valley Parade," said Ricky Polgar of Berwick. "I didn't get to here last year because of COVID, but it's beautiful."
The fair is open until Monday at 8 p.m. here along Main Road in Sweet Valley.