Cranberry Township residents looking for an eventful start to the month of July are in luck: The Cranberry Township Community Days festival returns this week after its pandemic hiatus.

The three-day festival, operated by the Cranberry Township Community Chest and sponsored by UPMC Passavant, among others, will run from July 8 to 10.

It features a variety of events, from carnival games and activities for children, to live music at the newly renovated Rotary Amphitheater, a car cruise, pickleball training workshops and more.

In past years, the festival has drawn more than 30,000 visitors from across the county and out of state. More than 100 vendors and more than 40 nonprofit organizations are involved.

“We’re all just so happy to have the festival going this year,” said Bruce Mazzoni, president of Cranberry Township Community Chest and member of the Cranberry Township Board of Supervisors. “Everyone attends for free — that’s the beauty of Community Days, a family of four can come and have fun for zero dollars.”

While admission to the festival is free, proceeds gathered through vendors and sponsors will benefit the 2022 CTCC Project of the Year, which has not yet been selected.

Mazzoni expects the project to be chosen later in the fall or winter.

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