Tamaqua Odd Fellows put the 35th Tamaqua Summerfest back on Broad Street on Sunday in a very big way.

The Father’s Day Festival, after being held in a smaller format on South Railroad Street for several years, literally took over the entire main street and closed it to traffic for the first time ever.

The Odd Fellows staff blocked off Route 209 from Lehigh Street to South Railroad Street, with traffic redirected through North and South wards.

Volunteers were on hand as early as 6 a.m. as food vendors arrived pulling their trailers and equipment.

Sections of Swatara and Nescopec streets and Hegarty Avenue were also closed.

The midway was lined with tents, canopies, food trucks and trailers, extending from Broad and South Railroad Street through to nearly the end of the 200 block of West Broad.

Comments from attendees were favorable. Most said they enjoyed having the extra space to enjoy all that the event offered.

“This is perfect. You can talk to friends,” said Terry Moyer Koch of Tamaqua, on hand with grandson, Connor Faenza, of Quakake.

Connor enjoys attending festivals, something he has in his blood through family lineage.

“I’m the great-grandson of Danny Farole,” he said, referring to a popular musician and street performer who passed several years ago.

More room

Tamaqua Mayor David Clemson said he, too, noticed a difference in having an expanded layout that provides more breathing room.

“I love this. It’s not elbow-to-elbow. The people are enjoying it.”

Michael Hobbs, Tamaqua police chief, also took in the event on his day off and appreciated the new configuration.

“It’s safer this way.”

Not all of the action was outdoors. There were indoor activities, too.

Many toured the Tamaqua Area Historical Museum where volunteer Dale Freudenberger and others guided guests through two buildings filled with art and history.

One visitor had a very personal connection to one of the displays.

“I get chills,” said John McGeehan III of Tamaqua, while viewing memorabilia and artifacts from a tumultuous era in local history.

McGeehan is descended from a reputed Molly Maguire with the same last name and so he took great interest in the museum’s Molly exhibit.

In fact, McGeehan even tried out for a chance to appear in the 1968 Paramount movie, “The Molly Maguires.”

“I auditioned to be a breaker boy, but didn’t make it,” he said.

80 vendors and more

Street theater performers Ruthie O’Dell of Plains Township was dressed in Victorian garb and Tom Curney of Hazleton appeared as a member of the Coal and Iron Police as the two strolled the streets.

Organizers said they were delighted with the weather, the turnout, the public support, and the event’s success.

“We’re thrilled,” said Justin Bailey of Tamaqua Harmony Lodge, IOOF.

“We’re just full. We have 80 vendors here.”

A live remote broadcast by Polka Joe Manjack of WMGH’s Magic Polka Machine took place in front of the Tamaqua museum.

At 3 p.m., the public was invited to witness the Tamaqua Fire Police Rubber Duck Race broadcast live with WMGH radio personality Kim MorningChick.

Three diesel train excursions took visitors north through the Tamaqua Tunnel to the Hometown High Bridge and south to New Ringgold.

Leiby’s Carriage Service offered a chance to ride through a section of the Tamaqua National Historic District in a horse-drawn trolley.