Saxonburg Rotary advocated for arts festival
The president of the Saxonburg Area Rotary Club said the group favors holding the 2023 Saxonburg Festival of the Arts on the same September weekend as Sprankle’s Octoberfest.
Borough officials canceled the arts festival for this year, citing mainly a lack of volunteers.
Karen Antoszyk said in an email response to an article in the Feb. 27 edition of the Butler Eagle that the club recommended to borough officials that the arts festival be held alongside Octoberfest on the weekend of Sept. 9.
Antoszyk said club leaders were approached by borough council to ask if members could volunteer at a scaled-down, single-day arts festival the borough was considering.
But when she and other club leaders realized the potential date for the arts festival, Aug. 26, was the same day as the Butler Italian Festival, the availability of vendors, food trucks and other features became a concern, Antoszyk said.
The club formed a three-person arts festival committee comprised of Antoszyk, Dick Beeler and Jim Knapick.
At the first meeting between the committee and borough officials, Aaron Piper, borough council president, announced that the borough had decided not to have the festival this year, Antoszyk said.
Mary Papik, borough manager, said in February the council decided it would be better to conduct the event properly next year than stretch volunteers, police and other officials on the Octoberfest date.
“Saxonburg Area Rotary Club representatives expressed their concern that skipping a year could potentially hurt the Saxonburg Festival of the Arts’ future success and urged the council to reconsider keeping it on the 2023 schedule,” Antoszyk said.
She said the goal of bringing people into Saxonburg would be met if the arts festival were held alongside Octoberfest, as it was in 2022.
But borough council ultimately decided to cancel the event for 2023.
A thank-you letter from festival organizers in 2022 stated the festival has been held each year since 1986, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Antoszyk said Councilwoman Mia Mazza Petruzzi is forming a committee that will plan various events in Roebling Park this summer.
“The borough’s hopes are that Roebling Park can be utilized in ways to give back to the community,” Antoszyk said.
Papik said last month it is too late to plan the arts festival for 2023, no matter how many volunteers offer their time.
The next Saxonburg council meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, at the borough building along West Main Street.
