It’s said that if you want rain, just wait for the weekend of the Palmerton Community Festival.

That was certainly the case last year, when rain fell on the event’s last day, shortening its duration by an hour. Rides and the festival’s free entertainment were also canceled for the day.

This year, organizers were hoping conditions would be different. It seems they got their wish. Temperatures stayed around the mid-70s Saturday and Sunday, perfect for riding rides, playing games or shopping the festival’s vendor row.

Conditions were so ideal, in fact, that some visitors thought the afternoon should be spent exercising, under the instruction of New York City-based yogi Lynette Buck, a Palmerton Area High School graduate.

Eight-year-old McKenzie Smith tested her yoga skills with Buck under the cover of the park’s bandstand. McKenzie’s mother, Nicki Smith, said last weekend’s weather was a huge improvement in comparison to years prior.

“It’s beautiful today,” Nicki said. “Some years, it’s so excruciatingly hot you don’t want to be here, other years it’s raining, so this is perfect.”

Event Chairwoman Susie Arner couldn’t have agreed more.

“It was amazing; the weather allowed us to have an absolutely perfect weekend, where many people sold a lot more food than they had in the past few years,” Arner said. “We had record-breaking crowds each day and night.”

Arner said this year’s edition “ran like clockwork.”

“Everybody had a marvelous time; I think everyone from the smallest vendor to the largest vendor had to have done well,” she said. “Hopefully we can see the trickle-down effect of the funds they all generated by all the good things those service groups do.”

As usual, Arner said organizers have already turned their attention toward next year’s event.

“We’re always looking forward to the following year; plans are already underway for the next one,” she said. “We will have some potential space available for nonprofit groups to participate. If interested, they can reach out to us on our website.”

The festival’s website is www.palmertonfestival.com.

Terry Ahner contributed to this report.