Many local charities and community organizations will have the opportunity to come together this Saturday to raise donations and awareness for their organizations during the first annual Charity Starts at Home Festival to be held on North and South Railroad Streets in Tamaqua.

The festival, which lasts from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, will have a large array of foods, crafters, games, attractions and events. Two popular and free attractions will be the 'Bigfoot Monster Truck Car Crush' and visit by members of 'Rescue Ink', a popular television reality show on the National Geographic Channel. Festival organizer Amy Hochberg-Paules and manager of Tire Pros in Tamaqua, pointed out that the festival had to be held the before the Tamaqua Summerfest due to Bigfoot's availability.The daylong festival kicks-off at 10 a.m., with local charities, organizations and vendors staged up and down South Railroad Street selling various items, crafts and foods. Some charities in attendance, will be East End Fire Company, Tamaqua Salvation Army, Tamaqua Elks Lodge, Schuylkill County Animal Rescue, Tamaqua Area Animal Rescue, Coaldale VFW Auxiliary, Coaldale's CHOSE, Elite Generation Wrestling, Ruth Steinert SPCA and many others.Charity organizations and food vendors will be also selling ice cream, BBQ, popcorn, soft pretzels, hot dogs and hamburgers. Also at 10 a.m., event organizers will be taking registrations for a combined Poker Run and Scavenger Hunt competition that will stretch between 10 distant locations. At 10:30 a.m., registrations will also be taken for a combined charity car, truck and motorcycle show to benefit local charities. The festival also includes a chili cook-off, with judging at 1 p.m.Organizers and volunteers will be walking around selling raffle tickets and other items to raise donations for community charities. At 2 p.m., children aged 12 and under can take part in a watermelon eating contest as well as enjoy a gummy worm pie contest at 3 p.m. After 4 p.m., Bigfoot Monster Truck driver Larry Swim, who earned the 2009 monster truck championship, is expected to entertain hundreds of spectators as he crushes and jumps over cars at the train station parking lot located on North Railroad Street.Immediately following the car crush, spectators will have the opportunity to get their photos taken with Bigfoot and the driver for a small donation. Bigfoot's visit, which costs about $5,000, is sponsored by Tire Pros, Firestone and Bridgestone. Cast and members from the 'Rescue Ink Unleashed' reality television series are also expected to be staged on South Railroad Street during the festival.The 'Rescue Ink Unleashed' show, which first premiered in late 2009 on the National Geographic Channel, featured a Long Island-based animal welfare organization, called 'Rescue Ink', a group of heavily tattooed motorcycle riders who work to combat animal cruelty and rescue animals in need. The group states that it uses an aggressive and in-your-face style, with the aim being to shame and report abusive animal owners and to remove distressed animals from their environments, supposedly taking them to no-kill shelters or rehabilitation facilities.Enthusiasts Tim Heckman and Butch Witkowski will be on-hand talking to people about Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, an apelike cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. In addition to multiple event trophies, awards, and raffles, other prizes awarded will be NASCAR tickets, gift certificates to local businesses, renaissance fair tickets, folk fair tickets, oil changes, bowling passes and tickets to the Reading Phillies."I believe in giving back to the community and this is a fun way to do so," said Mike Estojak, owner of Tire Pros in Tamaqua. "This is a great way for local non-profits to have the opportunity to raise money for themselves."Amy pointed out her appreciation to all the community-minded businesses that have contributed to their annual Charity Starts at Home Festival. For more information about the festival, go to the Tire Pros Facebook page or call (570) 668-3212.