BRODHEADSVILLE, Pa. — The smell of cinnamon and sugar is in the air. It's Fat Tuesday, and that means doughnuts or fastnachts are in high demand.
"I was on my Facebook this morning, and I said, 'Huh, what's on my mind?' Well, today, to all my family in Pennsylvania, it's Fat Tuesday, so you better go and buy all the doughnuts and eat them because, after that, it's Lent," said Barbara James, Effort.
Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras is a day to eat whatever we want before the fasting season of Lent begins.
At Kinsley's ShopRite in Chestnuthill Township, bakers are cranking out doughnuts by the dozens.
"It's a very big day for the bakery. Everyone gets very excited, and the team gets together, and they really do a great job trying to get doughnuts out for our customers," said Kathy Lockwitch, the bakery manager.
The process of making fastnachts is no joke. It starts on Sunday when bakers start to get the dough ready. Monday is when the glaze is prepared so that by Tuesday, all the doughnuts are boxed up and ready to go.
Lockwitch is the bakery manager. She's been working around the clock. No, literally, she's been here for 24 hours.
"We aren't finished yet. We have all the cleanup to do, so it's a very long process, but I have an excellent team, and everyone knows their parts and what to do, and we get it done," said Lockwitch.
People who came to pick up their sweet treats tell Newswatch 16, for them, this is a tradition.
"It's amazing, and there are so many. I have one with two different kinds in there. Otherwise, too many varieties is too much choice for me," said Margaret Miller, Sciota.
"A lot of people still do it. They used to make them at churches but being in this pandemic, they are not pursuing it anymore. It's been years of tradition," said Leonard Green, Kunkletown.
Bakers tell Newswatch 16, this year, more than 6,000 doughnuts will be made.