Attendees didn’t seem to mind intermittent sprinkles at Sunday’s 41st Annual Tamaqua Heritage Festival.

The event, coordinated by Harmony Lodge and Lady Harmony of Tamaqua Independent Order of Odd Fellows, had very little sunshine but managed to have something else for everyone.

“We came to look at the crafts,” said Jeannemarie Novack, accompanied by Georgine Engler.

The Tamaqua women said the event is always chock-full of crafters who provide handy tips.

“I come to get ideas for myself,” said Novack. “Because that’s what I do in the winter.”

Others see the festival as an opportunity for something different to eat.

“We came to get some good food,” said Glenn Wagner, Lansford. Wagner was accompanied by daughters Megan and Heather, schoolteachers at Weatherly and Panther Valley.

Some vendors were offering heritage festival treats for their very first time, including Earl and Sharon Edmondson, busy making funnel cake.

“We did it at Moyer’s Campground about 20 years,” said Sharon, adding that barbecue and smoked cheese were once part of their fare as well.

The festival, stretching along South Railroad Street, featured many small food stands with some offering goodies strictly fresh, not prepackaged.

“I was here at five in the morning,” said Joe Behun of New Ringgold. “Because it takes that many hours to do this.”

Behun and Scott Sassaman cooked up 20 gallons of homemade ham and bean soup in an old-fashioned cast-iron kettle, selling it for $5 a bowl to benefit Odd Fellows.

Tamaqua native Joseph Baddick of Reading was on hand selling copies of two of his books, “My Hero, My Son” and an autobiography, “Life is a Road Trip.”

Tom Applegate of Andreas offered newly minted CDs featuring his original music, much of it focused on local history and culture.

Justin Bailey of Odd Fellows said he was pleased with the turnout.

“All vendors showed up except just a few. We have over 70 vendor spots filled.”

Polka Joe Manjack of WMGH Radio manned the Magic Polka Machine near the Tamaqua Public Library, while volunteers of the Tamaqua Anthracite Model Railroad Society welcomed visitors at their panoramic model train display inside the Masonic Building two blocks away.

Visitors also were welcomed inside the Tamaqua Area Historical Museum and Annex, Scott Art Gallery, 1848 Hegarty Blacksmith Shop and the Tamaqua Area Wagon Works Museum.

The popular attraction, now in its fourth decades, is planned, coordinated and staged by volunteers.