Although the 36th edition of Historic Old Annville Day may be in jeopardy due to traffic rerouting issues, organizers are seeking ways to ensure it happens this June.
“We’re working on it,” said Michael Schroeder, president of Friends of Old Annville, the organization that runs the annual fund-raiser event. “Doug Nyce is the principal organizer. … He’s in conversations with potential parties about a potential solution.”
Whether the traditional fundraiser for local nonprofits occurs, however, is unknown. Â
North Annville Township supervisors voted on Jan. 13 to deny a request to reroute traffic from state Route 422 onto Clear Spring Road while downtown Annville is closed for the event.Â
Read More: 35th annual Historic Old Annville Day draws crowds [Photo Story]
While the detour had been approved in the past, the reroute request was denied because North Annville Township in August implemented two ordinances, including one that limits the size of tractor-trailers to no larger than 43 feet on Clear Spring Road. The other ordinance lowered the speed limit on the roadway.
Schroeder said he wasn’t at liberty to discuss negotiations but did offer some insights into what he called “a delicate situation.”
“It would be fair to say on the record that we’re in ongoing conversations with municipal officials in multiple municipalities and with various police departments, including the West Lebanon Police Department and South Annville Township,” said Schroeder.
While Schroeder said he believed the event – which has 200 vendors of which about 25 percent are nonprofit organizations – would still occur this year, Nyce isn’t as certain.
“As the chairman, I can’t say that we are going to have Annville Day on June 14, but we’re working to get that space available to us somehow,” said Nyce.Â
All options are being considered, but finding a workable solution has been difficult, according to Nyce.
“We’re exploring the possibilities of redirection at other roads but that doesn’t seem to be possible due to weight restrictions on bridges, narrowness of some roads and the bends (in roads) for tractor-trailers. We have to work with PennDOT and there’s only so much they’ll put up with to allow this,” he said. “We’re working on coming up with a way to have it at this site or another site that would suit, but I can’t really think of any other site that would suit that we could get ahold of.”Â
LebTown asked if there was another site, like Lebanon Valley College, that was large enough to accommodate vendors and guests if traffic on Route 422 can’t be rerouted.
“We’d have to have their permission, which we don’t have,” answered Nyce. “And they use that campus year-round, not just when classes are in session. Even if we approach them and ask, there’s no guarantee the space will be available.”
A good problem to have, but one that is complicating matters now that organizers are looking for alternate sites, is the large area required to run the event.
Visit Lebanon Valley president Jennifer Kuzo estimated between 7,000 and 8,000 people attend annually and said it ranks in the top five in attendance for events in Lebanon County. Â
“The number of blocks that we use – the space that we use – is quite huge and we would have to close a lot of streets around there (the college) to make it happen. But, again, that’s not necessarily an option at this point since we haven’t asked them (college officials),” said Nyce.
Nyce added that organizers would prefer and have a good reason to keep the event where it traditionally is held.
“Our No. 1 priority is to have it were it is supposed to be had and that’s in the historic district,” he said. “One of the main points is to highlight the historic district. We’re in the National Register, right in the heart of the historic district, a section that dates from the 1700s through the 1800s. There are house tours and people can walk around the neighborhood and see historic limestone structures, log cabins and whatnot. If we moved it, it would defeat the main part of Old Annville Day.”Â
During the township meeting and before the North Annville Township supervisors made their unanimous vote to deny the rerouting request, township solicitor Paul Bametzreider floated the idea of an entity assuming the insurance risk if the rerouting request was to be granted.
That is a conversation that Nyce said officials are willing to have with North Annville officials.
“We are actually looking into the indemnification possibility and we’re also working on of approaching North Annville Township a second time as an organization with proposals, so that’s something that we’re working on,” he added. Â
Nyce noted that the event is a major fundraiser for numerous local nonprofits.Â
“The local Egyptian Coptic church relies on having it right there on the street because they use their kitchen, and it is a major fundraiser for them and all of the other churches who come down and sell things,” said Nyce. “There’s the American Legion and Annville Alumni Association. The association always has their dinner the night before and their reunion and they have a stand. It really is the day for all of the not-for-profits in Annville to come together and for all of the people in Annville who are living around the country to come home and visit, spend the day together and have some good food.”
Schroeder said the loss of the event would be a “tremendous blow” to area nonprofits.
“There are various organizations that cover a variety of charitable causes and this event generates money, allows them to solicit membership and raise interest in their work,” said Schroeder. “When you have thousands of people filtering by throughout the day, it would be a tremendous blow to those organizations not to have Historic Old Annville Day.”
Not to mention the financial loss to downtown businesses. Schroeder said people shop, patronize local restaurants and bars and that local entertainers are paid to perform at Historic Old Annville Day.
Nyce said that while the event is held in historic Annville, which is in Annville Township, many other nearby municipalities benefit from it, too.
“We often have participants from Steelstown, churches and other organizations. It’s Annville Day, not Annville Township Day. It’s actually for everybody in Annville – North Annville, South Annville, Annville Township, it’s the Annville School District that we’re in, which encompasses all of those areas,” added Nyce.
If the event is held, Nyce said the date will still be June 14.
“Saturday, June 14, that date is fixed,” said Nyce. “Vendors do a circuit and they have to plan months in advance, so we can’t just change it to another date.”Â
Given the fixed date is quickly approaching, Nyce knows the clock is ticking on finding a viable solution.
“We would normally be sending out vendor applications shortly, like in a week,” said Nyce. “End of January we usually approach returning vendors first and then we post it for the public a week later just to give them (returning vendors) some respect and allow them to apply first. All of the spaces fill up, so we don’t want to cut anybody out.”
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