More than 20 years after her last visit to Moraine State Park, Gee Schwalenstocker said she was pleasantly reminded on Sunday of how beautiful it is.
“I love the woods and the water. I could come out here with a picnic and stay all day,” said Ms. Schwalenstocker, 74, of Allison Park.
She was among thousands of people who made their way to Prospect, Butler County, this weekend to attend the 24th annual Moraine State Park Regatta. The regatta is an annual event held for the public to enjoy land and water recreation activities in an effort to promote the park and get more people to visit.
“We want to show off the park,” said event director Amanda Becker of Valencia-based Appleseed Events. “It’s basically right in a lot of people’s backyard being a 45-minute drive from Pittsburgh.
“And it feels like you are in this whole other world when you’re out here.”
The free activities during the regatta included sailing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, archery, yoga, rock climbing and tae-kwon-do.
It has grown in popularity over 24 years to more than 28,000 attendees. This year’s attendance numbers also are expected to be in that ballpark, organizers said.
Brian Taylor, the owner of Fairground Market in Prospect, has been a food vendor at the annual event since the first year.
“It has grown exponentially,” he said. “This event draws a lot of people here.
“The event used to be on the north shore of Moraine, which didn’t work out very well. Then they moved it to this side and it’s growing.”
Mr. Taylor sells typical carnival foods, including hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, chicken wings and barbecue pork and beef.
His business, located about 3 miles from Moraine State Park, celebrated 40 years in June. He was one of 17 food vendors at the regatta this year; last year there were 19.
The 16,725-acre Moraine State Park celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2020.
George Hage, 64, of Beaver Falls, has fond memories of fishing with his father on Lake Arthur when he was growing up.
Later, he and his wife Judy, 69, would bring their children to the park. They only come about once a year now.
The regatta was a perfect excuse to go on Sunday.
“It’s a beautiful day,” Ms. Hage said. “We’re just going to walk around and watch the paddle boaters and hang out for a while.”
The highlight of Saturday’s event was a fireworks show on the south shore of Lake Arthur. Sunday’s grand finale was a butterfly release.
Tim Grant: tgrant@post-gazette.com
First Published: August 7, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: August 7, 2023, 2:50 p.m.