The ‘original’ festival was a simple picnic that was held by volunteers, their families and friends during the year of the Shrine’s dedication.
The festival was the brainchild of Dr. Raymond Chase and his wife, Virginia, along with Father Michael Zembruski, the founder of the Shrine. Their idea was to create an ethnic celebration combined with an old-fashioned country fair.
Back then, events of this type were not the norm, so despite the hard work of many volunteers, questions remained as to its success. Doubts were quickly allayed when thousands of people arrived to join in the festivities at this relatively unknown shrine. Pennsylvania State Police had to be called in to handle the miles-long traffic jams…