POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- After a successful first year, Winterfest in Pottsville is returning to Schuylkill County next weekend.
"We ended up having like 3,600 people who came out last year, so we had so much fun. Everyone just talked about the snow and how something was happening in January when there's usually not anything else going on. It's made it really easy this year to get excited about it and to kind of anticipate the success of it," said Abby Weaver, owner of Pressed Coffee and Books.
Pottsville Winterfest is coming to this part of Schuylkill County on Saturday, January 11, and the buzzword is local. Those who come will find local food, local craft vendors, local music, local drinks, and more.
"We have 25 vendors, a bunch of food vendors, Kowalonek's Kielbasa, Here Piggy and Piggy, some of the staples that have been to our events. We're going to bring in two truckloads of snow from Blue Mountain Ski Resort. We're going to have a snow play area for the kids, a beer garden with Yuengling beer," said vendor coordinator Joseph Drasdis.
Winterfest is yet another event that young organizers in Pottsville say they've put together to help draw people to the city. They add that the recent success of these events throughout the year is what's kept them going.
"We see the potential, unlike some of the generations before us, they saw kind of the demise of the city. We can see what it can come back to and how great it truly can be," Drasdis said. "It's just a matter of pointing out that there's space here to do really fun things. There's people who want to be involved in it."
Pottsville Winterfest will take place on South Second Street from 11 a.m.to 5 p.m. on January 11. The road will be blocked off from West Market Street to Mahantango Street.