Leechburg’s biggest event of the year did not disappoint.
A warm and sunny Saturday brought thousands of people to the small Alekiski Valley town for the 13th annual Leechburg Pink Days Festival.
The festival, held annually on the third Saturday in September, is a breast cancer awareness fundraiser and is Leechburg’s largest event.
It’s a gala and fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, founded in 2011 by Gary and Vicki Peterman of Gilpin.
From late morning through the early evening on Saturday, four blocks of Market Street were closed off, with approximately 110 vendors lining the street selling delicious food, cold snow cones, local crafts, face painting, live music, a petting zoo, balloon animals, mascots and more.
Joelyn Hess of Freeport is a breast cancer survivor who beat it 19 years ago.
“This means a lot to me,” Hess said Saturday afternoon. “I’m happy to see all this positive energy and to see this event become as big as it has.”
Leechburg resident Shelley Price, 61, is an organizer of the Pink Day Festival and is excited about this year’s turnout. Last year’s celebration drew about 10,000 people to Leechburg, and Saturday’s event is expected to keep pace, she said.
The event is expected to raise approximately $41,000 for breast cancer research in 2023, bringing the total raised to more than $270,000 over the past 13 years.
“When I see this level of support, I feel like I’m a blessed person,” said Price, a breast cancer survivor.
Local businesses also got involved: Coco Coffee House set up a booth in front of the store, National Public House sold cocktails for adults and snow cones for kids, and the local State Farm Insurance affiliate on Market Street handed out pink tote bags.
Pink Day Festival has grown exponentially since its humble beginnings in the early 2010s, when Price says the first festival only had around 100 attendees.
Heather Zack brought her children to the event along with her sister and their children, and she said it’s been amazing to see how the Pink Day festival has “boomed” over the past few years.
Two stages entertained visitors: one with a puppet show for children and the other with live music from a number of bands.
Larison Svegis, 35, of Leechburg, brought her 4-year-old daughter Saturday, who beamed with joy as she received a pink balloon animal on a warm afternoon.
Svejis said he was pleased to see the festival grow over the years and praised the event for offering a number of activities for children, including a popular foam party in the afternoon.
“It’s for a great cause, there’s great food and it brings everyone together,” she said.
Ryan Deto is a Triblive reporter covering politics and Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California’s Bay Area, Deto joined the Trib in 2022 after more than six years covering Pittsburgh, including serving as editor-in-chief at Pittsburgh City Paper. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.com.
