PHOTO PROVIDED Orviston Rock stands guard at the town’s entrance, greeting visitors to the annual Orviston Community Celebration.

ORVISTON — The Orviston Celebration will be held this weekend in the little village tucked in the mountains of Curtin Township, some 10 miles “up the crick” from Beech Creek.

The original summer festival was designed to pay homage to the booming brickyard factory and the by-gone era of the town, when there was a store, train depot, post office, school and church.

Once the brick yard shut down the summer festivals stopped.

Until decades later, in the early 1990’s, when it was revived as the Orviston Celebration, under the direction of Jim Packer and (the late) Kels Lomison. Now, 30 years later, the tradition continues with many of the Packer and Lomison children and grandchildren working together to keep the summer celebration alive each year.

The term “celebration” is used instead of festival, as a nod to the town’s founding in 1904 by Judge Ellis Orvis, and as a tribute to those ancestors of the people today who still have fond memories of their days in Orviston.

Scrapbooks and photos have been carefully preserved and are proudly displayed each year, depicting the folks and the buildings from years gone by, allowing many of the attendees to reminisce and be taken back to those simpler times — the days of their youth. You’ll find many folks sitting back in their lawn chairs, sharing memories of having lived there as a youngster, or of their venturing to Orviston to visit with relatives living in the tiny community.

Beginning on Friday, July 11, around noon, craft and food vendors will be arriving and setting up for business. You’ll want to bring a lawn chair and settle in for the camaraderie that lasts until about 9 p.m.

About 4 p.m. marks the start of the weekend in Orviston, when the food is ready and those interested in registering for the annual wiffle ball home run derby can get in line to register. The wiffle ball derby kicks off at 6 p.m. with contestants of all ages. The derby is an ode to the Orviston Brickyarders baseball team.

While there on Friday night, you can get the jump on buying tickets for the Basket Raffle and the Summer Prize Raffle, both featuring some amazing items that have been donated and will be given away on Saturday evening.

There is usually a 50/50 raffle drawn on Friday evening, too.

On stage Friday evening, from 7:30-8:45 p.m., will be Nashville recording artist Dale Keller.

As far as food goes, it’s the typical summer menu: hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, pizza, strombolis, hot sausages, soda, ice cream and milkshakes, plus a few more treats that are sure to please.

Saturday morning activities begin with breakfast at the pavilion. From 7-10 a.m. you can start your day with a good, hearty breakfast.

Opening ceremonies marking the official 2025 Orviston Celebration will be held at the stage at 10:30 a.m. Opening ceremonies also include honoring the veterans of Hayes Run and Orviston whose names are proudly engraved on the Orviston Honor Roll monument in the center of town. Many of those veterans whose names are on the honor roll will be finding their way to Orviston for the weekend festivities.

Bring your lawn chairs on Saturday, too!

The annual horseshoe tournament sign-up and warm-up throws will start at 9:30 a.m. and the pitching begins at 11 a.m. Brad Markey is in charge and can be contacted at 570-367-9397.

Saturday’s live entertainment kicks off at noon with Classic Rock Revival on stage until 1:30 p.m.

Parade line-up begins around 1 p.m. out Blue Row and beyond for the annual Orviston Celebration Parade which steps off at 2 p.m. For those who have never witnessed this, the parade loops around town twice (Front and Back streets), so if you miss something on their first trip, you’ll be able to see it on the second go-around. Floats, fire and emergency units, ATV riders, local politicians and antique vehicles are just some of the parade entries each year. If you want to be in the parade just show up at the line-up and you’ll be included.

After the parade, Steve and Chanse Davy, known as “Bluegrass Express,” will be performing on stage until around 4:30 p.m., followed by Kids@Heart entertaining the crowd until 6 p.m.

Be sure to pick a brick out for the annual Brick Float, and watch as it floats its way down the Beech Creek stream towards “Laurabelle’s Swimming Hole.” Only in Orviston will you see that a brick really does float! The first brick to cross the finish line earns a nice cash prize!

Basket raffle winners will be drawn at 6:30 p.m. Winners must claim their prizes before 9 p.m. or another winner will be drawn. So if you have to leave the celebration early, be sure to hand off your raffle tickets and permission to claim your prize to someone who will still be there for the raffle drawings.

Hometown favorites, the Lomison Family and Friends band, will entertain from 7-8:45 p.m., playing and singing those old familiar tunes that you just can’t help but sing along to.

At 9 p.m. the Summer Raffle drawing will be held, along with the final 50/50 of the day and a redraw of any of the unclaimed basket raffle prizes.

Closing remarks and announcements will be mentioned and then… the fantastic fireworks finale at 9:30 p.m. or thereabouts.

Everyone is invited to the Orviston Celebration this weekend. The Orviston Celebration committee doesn’t want any accidents that would put the damper on a great tradition that happens each year in Orviston.

There are a few courtesy rules that need to be followed:

— No underage drinking. And for those old enough to consume, keep it to a minimum.

— Watch your language: it’s a family friendly event.

— ATV’s will be permitted to participate in the parade, but otherwise they should not be ridden while there is congestion in town.

— Leave the fireworks to the pros. Children and families are there to enjoy the day, and setting off M-80’s around parked vehicles can cause injuries or damage, and the noise scares and hurts the ears of the little ones.

If anyone has any questions, concerns or problems, please call Dave Lomison at 814-404-0357.