The 32nd Annual Tamaqua Summerfest will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in downtown Tamaqua.

Presented by the Tamaqua Historical Society, Summerfest is the first big celebration of the season in the Tamaqua area. It spreads over several blocks of West Broad Street, as well as Hegarty Avenue, and South Railroad, Berwick and Nescopeck streets.

Train, mine rides

Scenic train rides by the Reading & Northern Railroad will be held at 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. from the historic Tamaqua Railroad Station. The first and third trips will go north to the area of the Hometown High Bridge before returning, and the second trip will head south to the area of New Ringgold before returning.

Advance tickets may be purchased by calling 610-562-2102. Tickets can be purchased in person with cash only at Tink’s Antiques on South Railroad Street. Any remaining tickets can be purchased the day of the festival in front of the Tamaqua Railroad Station.

Lehigh Anthracite Company and its “Miners on a Mission” committee will offer four, 90-minute bus tours of Lehigh Anthracite’s mining operations between the Tamaqua and Coaldale area. This is a cooperative effort with the Tamaqua Historical Society.

Bus departure times are at 9 and 11 a.m., and 1 and 3 p.m. The bus will leave from the parking lot in front of Tommy’s Italian Restaurant on North Railroad Street.

Tickets are $12 per person and are being sold in advance only from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays at Tink’s Antiques. Age 10 and under are not permitted due to safety reasons.

Any remaining tickets will be sold on the day of the event bus on a first come, first served basis.

The tours will be offered again on Aug. 26 during the Tamaqua Railfest and on Oct. 8 during the Tamaqua Heritage Festival.

Jukebox Cruisers Car Club will conduct a car show beginning at 10 a.m. on South Railroad Street. People’s Choice trophies will be presented to the top three vote-getters.

No preregistration is necessary and there is no fee. Music will be provided by the Juke Box Cruisers disc jockey. The first 50 vehicles to arrive will receive Summerfest dash plaques.

Craft fair

One of the favorite attractions each year is the large street fair featuring a mix of many crafters, vendors and local organizations.

Items available include handmade candles, crocheted and knitted items, handmade jewelry, wood items, handmade wreaths and holiday decorations, as well as hot sauces, honey, steam punk creations, Coal Region souvenirs and attire, Tupperware, crystals, wall hangings and homemade foods and baked goods.

There will also be children’s train rides, games, face painting and a large bounce house. Buster the Clown will be strolling the festival route and making balloon animals.

The Tamaqua Fire Police will have their Rubber Ducky Race on the Little Schuylkill River. Tickets can be purchased in front of Boyer’s Market in Tamaqua and Mauch Chunk Trust Company.

The race will start at 3 p.m. at the Elm Street bridge and finish at Boyer’s Market.

History

The 1848 Hegarty Blacksmith Shop on Hegarty Avenue will be open for free tours.

It was the oldest continually run business in Schuylkill County when it closed in 1974 after being operated by three generations of the Hegarty family since 1848.

It is now owned and operated by the Tamaqua Historical Society. Resident blacksmiths Don Campbell and Travis Sobolewski will demonstrate their skills.

The Tamaqua Historical Society’s Museum, Annex, Scott Art Gallery and Dudley Exhibit Hall on West Broad Street will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can check out the exhibits and the new additions.

The exhibit includes a 1910 Tamaqua barroom, old time butcher, barber, print, shoe repair shops; doctor’s and dentist’s offices; old time general store; 1920s kitchen exhibit; death, mourning and burial customs exhibit; Tamaqua Wheelmen bicycle exhibit; coal mining and railroads exhibits; farming and dairies exhibit and more.

“The museum is always a work in progress and continues to grow,” Freudenberger said, noting that admission is free. A soft opening of a new special exhibit on the Lehigh & New England Railroad will be held at the Dudley Exhibit Hall, 112 W. Broad St.

The Tamaqua Heritage Players will stroll through the downtown dressed in period costumes.

Leiby’s Carriage Service will provide horse-drawn trolley rides with their Belgian draft horses.

The Victorian HiWheelers on their antique hi-wheel bicycles may make an appearance at the festival.

Food and music

Foods include homemade pierogies and halushki, ice cream, milk shakes, fresh cut French fries, Volcano drinks, cotton candy, fresh lemonade, wood fired pizza, funnel cake, meatball subs, beef and pork pit barbecue sandwiches, shish kebabs, grape leaves, gyros, hot dogs, hamburgers, home baked goods, homemade soups, fresh tapped birch beer, fresh made kettle corn and more.

Many other indoor dining opportunities and special menu items will be offered at the many fine restaurants and shops in downtown Tamaqua.

Stokers Brewery on Mauch Chunk Street and Revere Brewing Co. on the far eastern end of Broad Street will be open.

Music will include a live broadcast of the WMGH polka program with Polka Joe Manjack from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the Tamaqua Museum. DJ Shawn Frederickson will spin summertime tunes from 1 to 5 p.m.

Coal Region folk musician and clogger Jay Smar will perform his local folk music near the Hegarty Blacksmith Shop.

The Faculty Brass Band will be strolling the festival route throughout the day.

Visitors can check out the H.O. scale model train layout at the Tamaqua Anthracite Model Railroad Club, 139 W. Broad St.

A vintage hi-lift coal truck from Raricks Coal will be on display near West Broad and Hunter streets.

Contact Freudenberger at 610-597-6722 or dalefreud@gmail.com for more information. Emails are preferred.