I have an English and Polish ancestry and a beard many believe to be Irish. The Cambria City Ethnic Festival is about history, music, food, and the families that scatter through the streets. My wife's grandmother likes to sit on her Cambria City porch and watch the scattering people as singing birds swoop in and out of her backyard. This year's Ethnic Fest had a bit of a chill, but with the same community warmth.
Ethnic Fest food prepares me for the autumn running season. Translation: I am motivated to run after the 3-day-carbohydrate marathon that is Ethnic Fest. The lamb sandwich at Ace's has been a Johnstown tradition for as long as I can remember. It is the one and only time each year I seek out a sandwich comprised of lamb. It is humongous.
While the lamb sandwich is in accordance with tradition, there were new people to meet and food to fancy at this year's event. A West Virginian vendor reeled me in with a sample of fudge. With my youngest strapped to my chest, I tried a chocolate-mint bite of almost heaven. With a heavy accent and a WVU cap, this guy gave us a quick lesson on the art of his craft. About a half hour later, I bought a box of the chocolate-mint. Go Mountaineers.
On Sunday, my wife and I headed to Cambria City for one last hurrah. A food truck vendor spotted us and believed we might be satisfied by a Gypsy Taco. Gypsies, roaming folks, date back centuries and history tells us they have traveled many different parts of the globe. The Grumbling Gypsy is a food truck that originated in Somerset in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Gypsy Taco made for a great lunch. As we ate, the sun tried to squeeze between the clouds. Rain certainly impacted the 2017 Ethnic Fest, but there is no crying at Ethnic Fest.
Other highlights this year included... My 2-year-old got her face painted in the form of Minnie Mouse on Saturday. Minnie, a beloved American rodent, has captured the hearts and minds of young and old. As the paint gradually slid and smeared, my daughter looked less like Minnie and more like monster. Streaking black and red paint reminded me of Braveheart. What would a 2-year-old do without freedom?
That same daughter and I danced to a band's cover of Easy outside of Bottleworks. On Friday night, we spun around singing about Sunday morning. Released by The Commodores 40 years ago, the Motown chart topper puts it all in perspective. Parenting is hard. Loving those little ones is easy and easily the best investment I've ever made.
To the volunteers and vendors, thank you. Our family, in some way shape or form, took on those Ethnic Fest streets Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That grandma sat out on her back porch, probably thinking about times gone by while squeezing the grand kids that are growing up so fast.
Next September, both my kids will be on their feet ready to walk, or run, through Cambria City.
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