74 years and still going strong
The legacy of Renovo’s Flaming Foliage Festival
By Emily Wright
The Pennsylvania State Flaming Foliage Festival began in 1949, and this year Renovo will host its 74th festival from Friday, Oct. 13 to Sunday, Oct. 15. The parade through town is set to commence at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, along 3rd Street and Huron Avenue. The annual coronation event is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. at Bucktail High School/Middle School. This year, the festival expects to host over 150 craft and food vendors, including several new food vendors making their debut. The craft and food vendors will be open for business from dusk till dawn.
Originally, the Flaming Foliage Festival was a three-county event put together to promote tourism in the Lock Haven, Emporium, and Renovo areas. The festival came to fruition in 1949 because of a collaboration between Carl Bergdahl, a Department of Forest and Waters employee, and Jack Smyth, publisher of what was “The Renovo Daily Record” at the time. The event received its name when Bergdahl described the fall foliage as the “flaming colors of autumn” during a conversation with Smyth. Smyth then suggested the “Flaming Foliage” idea, and the event is now held annually during the time when the area showcases a panoramic view of fall foliage.
Since its humble beginnings in 1949, the festival has blossomed into a beloved event, drawing in a staggering 30,000 attendees each year. The festival is renowned for its weekend-long traditions; the parade, local talent shows, food and craft vendors, and the coronation of a Future Queen and Future Escort, among other events.
The very first Flaming Foliage Queen, Sherrill Hiller of Jersey Shore, was crowned by Governor James Duff on top of Hyner View in 1949. Governor Duff spoke at the coronation to a crowd of about 1,000 people using a microphone system, which was modern technology at the time. The queen’s banquet was held at The Fallon Hotel in Lock Haven that year.
Hiller would later pursue a career as an actress. She’s been featured in commercials, industrial films, and even the movie “Viral Assassins.” She returned to the festival as a judge after her crowning and continued to do so for thirty years. “Just be yourself, and everything else will fall into place,” she advised Queen contestants.
By the 1950s, Lock Haven and Emporium had withdrawn their participation, leaving Renovo to continue hosting the festival as an annual tradition.
The first queen from Renovo was crowned in 1952. Miss Sonya Brown was chosen out of 37 contestants, which was the most contestants in the history of the festival to date. Her coronation took place in front of a crowd of 5,000 people.
The queen contestants have historically been considered to be “typical American high school girls”, and over the years they’ve been known to showcase ever-changing hairstyles and fashion. The judges used to rely on “the three P’s” when selecting a queen: Poise, personality, and pulchritude (meaning “shape”). Today, queens are chosen based on their character, poise, and ability to communicate with others.
Queen contestants showcase their character, poise, and communication skills depending on the school they come from. Some candidates deliver speeches to explain why they should be selected, while others receive nominations from their peers and faculty members. Some contestants even volunteer to partake in the royal contest for the opportunity to enjoy the experience.
Prior to 1958, the festival featured an elected “Miss Renovo” each year, but that title is now known as the “Hostess.” Each year Flaming Foliage Festival “Hostesses” are selected by their peers at Bucktail High School/Middle School. Hostesses serve as a welcoming committee, providing their assistance with the coordination of festival events among other things, and they are also featured in the parade.
Every year at the start of the festival, the queen contestants arrive and begin the royal events by participating in group interviews with one of the judges. Each trio of queen contestants spends approximately 15 minutes with the judge, who asks questions to assess their personalities, speaking abilities, and overall character. The judges also inquire about current events, testing the contestants’ knowledge and awareness of local and global happenings. Throughout the festival weekend, the judges spend plenty of time getting acquainted with the queen contestants, sitting with them at luncheons and the royal banquet. This year, there will be a total of five judges.
Over the years, the royal contest winners have been granted scholarships. In the early years of the festival, the winner received a state senatorial scholarship worth $1,400 to be utilized for a four-year education at one of four Pennsylvania schools. This year, the winning contestant receives a $500 scholarship, while the first runner-up is awarded $300 and the second runner-up receives a $200 scholarship.
The festival tradition of choosing a “Miss Congeniality” began in 1965, with the first “Mister Congeniality” chosen the following year. Then in 1980, the title “Miss Photogenic” was added. The number of candidates for the royal pageants had grown to 39 by 1988, and the festival parade now includes 30 crowned Queens on average.
Royal events were elevated in 1980 when the first ever all-male “Miss America” Pageant was held at Bucktail High School. Butch Knauff won the title the first year. Getting the event off to a memorable start, Knauff kissed both the M.C. James Knauff, who happened to be his father, along with the head judge, and state Rep. Russell P. Letterman.
In 1960, the festival saw the largest turnout and the largest parade since its inception. By 1969, the parade boasted 13 units and was dubbed “the largest ever”.
The festival became incorporated in 1974 when State Secretary of Agriculture, James McHale, presented Renovo
Rev. Ogden Ludlow with a scroll designating the community as the site of the “Pennsylvania State Flaming Foliage Festival Inc.”.
The festival drew over 35,000 tourists to the community of 4,000 residents in 1982, and the following year attendance grew to 40,000 tourists.
Today, the event is so popular that the PA State Flaming Foliage Festival Committee spends an entire year planning and preparing for the next festival. They raise funds for the event, send out letters to potential participants for the parade, and arrange for the royal candidates to spend the weekend with a local host who volunteers to welcome them into their home.
Preparing for the festival each year requires a lot of help. Volunteers are responsible for organizing the parade and craft show, making seating charts for the royal candidates, organizing festival events and where they’re going to be held, chaperoning the “Queen’s Ball” dance, and even preparing necessary paperwork for the venues that will be used during the weekend of the festival among other tasks.
Maria Ransom, the Queen’s Advisor on the Pennsylvania State Flaming Foliage Festival Committee, told The Record that anyone wanting to volunteer and help out during the weekend of the 2023 festival is still welcome to participate. “New volunteers are always welcome! They can contact any committee member or reach out to us through our Facebook page”, she said.
Join the festivities this year by entering Renovo at either end of town, and look out for signs that say, “FFF Parking”.
