We are sad to hear the Saxonburg Festival of the Arts has been canceled this year.

Lack of volunteers and bad timing were cited as the main reasons for shelving the September event, which has been held annually for more than 30 years and whose proceeds, among other things, help support Roebling Park.

Mary Papik, Saxonburg manager, said borough council had discussed the event’s future for several months before deciding to pull the plug.

“There are too many events and not enough supporting people,” she said.

Last year, the festival was held in conjunction with Sprankle’s Octoberfest, but Papik said council in January decided not to hold the festival on the same weekend because volunteers, police and resources were stretched too thin.

Borough council at one point decided to hold the festival as a one-day event instead of a weekend event and picked Aug. 26.

But the Saxonburg Area Rotary, whose members have volunteered at the arts festival, are committed to helping at the Butler Italian Festival on Aug. 26 this year, Papik said.

The celebration, which drew an estimated 25,000 to the borough last year, had returned in 2021 after COVID-19 restrictions.

According to Papik, it is too late to plan the event no matter how many volunteers come forward.

“It takes a lot of people to put on an event like that,” she told the Eagle last week. “It’s better to support one event well. We’re trying to regroup and determine what can be done to make a successful event.”

We hope scheduling and volunteer issues can be resolved in 2024 so the festival can continue for at least another 30-plus years.

– JGG