Crowds celebrate return of Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival near Greensburg

Betty Ann Horvath wasn’t going to let the threat of bad weather this weekend get in the way of her returning to the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival for the first time since the covid-19 pandemic started.

Within the first hour of the festival’s opening day Thursday, Horvath arrived at Twin Lakes Park east of Greensburg with her friend, Carolyn Travis, ready to shop.

“We haven’t been here in three years,” said Horvath, of Braddock Hills. “We go to all kinds of craft shows, so with covid and everything we couldn’t go. This is the first year since it’s back, so we didn’t want to miss it. We’ve been housebound for a long time.”

The popular festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. Now, the event — which runs through Sunday — has returned for its 48th year.

On Thursday morning, hundreds of people milled around the park listening to popular tunes played by the Penn Trafford Community Band. The smell of cooking food wafted from food trucks, and 170 artist market vendors, 90 of whom are first-timers, set up along pathways twisting around the lakes.

“I’m excited about them returning so we can see it and everybody,” said Jay Wright, 78, of Monroeville. “You can see the crowds. It just opened, and look at the crowds.”

Wright noted that prior to covid, he attended the festival every year.

For several vendors, however, this was their first year selling goods at the event.

Dave Rasel, owner of Rasel’s Studios, said he was excited to sell his paintings at the festival he has attended since he was a kid.

“It’s been great,” Rasel said. “We did our first festivals at the end of last year, getting back after covid, which is fantastic because people are anxious to get out, see everything. … It’s great for us to get out and do this and be among people, get people’s feedback on everything. It’s been very good.”

While the studio is not his main form of income, Rasel said the return of craft shows and festivals motivates him to create new art.

“As an artist, it means a lot because that’s what keeps me going,” he said. “You know you have a show coming up, you’ve got to do new work, you want to boost new material so that kind of keeps you motivated, keeps you going.”

For Natalie McConnell, owner of North Huntingdon-based ShedDazzled, attending the festival means showcasing the jewelry she started making during the pandemic.

“This is my covid hobby, so to be able to be here their first year back is pretty exciting,” McConnell said. “Just to see the change in the crowd from mid-covid to now, it’s been a really good year. I’m so happy to see people out and about now.”

The event also was applauded by Westmoreland County commissioners, who spoke during the opening ceremony.

“First time in two years we’re able to have this festival again, and it is already jam packed,” Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher said. “The parking lot’s usually empty on Thursday at 12 p.m., but it’s already completely jam packed, the park is already full, this weekend is going to be so so busy, and it’s going to be so much fun and a lot of festivities.”

Commissioner Doug Chew added: “This is the 48th year of the Twin Lakes Arts and Heritage Festival. … It is truly, as my colleagues have said, exciting to be back after that two-year hiatus.”

The event is expected to draw a high number of attendees over its four-day run. About 100,000 people attend the event in a typical year.

The entertainment schedule and lists of artists and food vendors can be found at artsandheritage.com.

“I love it,” said Cherie Mihalik, 66, of North Versailles. “I love seeing people back to normal.”