PLYMOUTH — The logo for this year’s Plymouth Kielbasa Festival is a kielbasa mascot punching a coronavirus strain with the caption “POW!”
“We are knocking it out,” Terry Womelsdorf, the president of Plymouth Alive, said about the COVID-19 virus, which canceled last year’s event.
His colleague, Jaynan Temarantz, Plymouth Alive’s treasurer and acting secretary, added that she hopes “it stays that way.”
After a year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival is back this year.
The 17th annual festival dedicated to all things kielbasa will be held Aug. 13 to 14 on Main Street in Plymouth.
One of the major changes this year is those attending will have the opportunity to crown this year’s kielbasa champion.
Those attending the festival will get a ticket to vote for their favorite fresh and smoked kielbasa vendors.
“We decided to open it to the public,” Temarantz said. “All they have to do is come down to our T-shirt tent and we will have a voting box and they can enter a ballot.”
This way, it assures there are no allegations of “stuffing the ballot box” by Plymouth Alive-selected judges, Womelsdorf joked.
At least 10 kielbasa vendors and various other vendors will be lined up along Main Street for the two-day event.
Earlier this year, organizers doubted they would hold the festival’s traditional parade. But the parade is again scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 14. This year’s theme is “Thank You First Responders.” Ray Rondindilla, a UPS driver well known around town as “UPS Ray,” will serve as grand marshal.
The live entertainment schedule at the Susan Gryziec Main Stage in the municipal parking lot includes:
Friday, John Stevens Polka Band, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Shaky Ground, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Nobody’s Fool, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and the Eddie Money tribute band, Shaken, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday, Flaxy Morgan, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Stanky and the Coal Miners, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.; 3rd Degree, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and the Van Halen tribute band, Fair Warning, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
DJ Bouncin’ Bernie will perform both days 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. near Wyoming Valley West High School.
Because of COVID-19 spacing and the construction of the new Dollar General store in the borough, some vendors won’t be in their familiar spots that some of them have been in since the festival’s inception, organizers said.
Womesldorf noted a few vendors decided not to return, some because of a lack of workers.
“The days are very long,” he said.
Womelsdorf and Temarantz said they were excited for the event’s return.
“It’s nice to get back. It will be nice to see folks we haven’t seen. It’s like a bazaar. You get to see people who you didn’t see all year,” Temarantz said.
Scott Cannon, the event’s entertainment and social media coordinator, said the lack of a kielbasa festival last year left a “big hole” in the community.
“I was just sitting around looking for something to do that weekend,” Cannon said. “It’s very good to be back and as close to normal as we can.”
Bob Kalinowski works for The Citizens’ Voice in Wilkes-Barre. Reach him at bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2055 or @cvbobkal on Twitter.
