North East Firemen's Cherry Festival Benefiting Fire Departments
At the North East Firemen’s Cherry Festival, it’s $5 for a slice of cherry pie, $2 for a ride ticket, and 50 cents for a bingo card. All the proceeds from the Cherry Fest go into supporting the Fuller Hose and Crescent Hose North East fire departments.
“All of the money raised helps the North East Fire Departments. . . a minority of our funding comes from the municipality. We do appreciate the support we get from the municipality, and the lion's share comes from fundraising,” public information officer for the festival Chris Skrekla said.
Skrekla said The Cherry Fest serves as a homecoming and is a huge contribution to the fire department's expenses.
“Once all the money comes in and the bills are paid, the first thing that organization does is pay its annual insurance. . .all the trucks get their annual insurance, plus the buildings. Then money is separated between the two departments, which is probably a good portion of our annual operational budget,” Skrekla said.
From long-time attendees to the cherry queen, the festival is a summer staple people want to support.
“I've been coming for 15 years or so,. . . supporting communities is really important to me," Greg Barney from Harborcreek said.
The 2023 Cherry Queen also said it’s an event that has a direct effect on the people the fire departments serve.
“I think it’s very important that we all come together to support the fire department because it does help. They put their lives on the line, just for us. . . It’s so special that people come and donate. . .We’re all just supporting one big thing and that’s the fire departments,” 2023 Cherry Queen Lilly Bement said.