Fun Returns to Clearfield Co. Fairgrounds with Cruise & Brews Food & Music Festival

CLEARFIELD – Looking for something fun and affordable to do this weekend? Try the Cruise & Brews Food & Music Festival at the Clearfield County Fairgrounds.

This is the first year for the free event, which was originally scheduled for June of 2020 and then for the summer of 2021. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of those earlier efforts.

The Cruise part starts on Friday, Aug. 19 with vehicles traveling repeatedly around Downtown Clearfield, as in the old days before computers, the Internet and video games.

Older or antique cars are encouraged to attend, but anyone can participate in this retro activity, according to one of the organizers of the event, Logan Cramer.  

The Cruise is scheduled for 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. when the vehicles will be judged as they travel around downtown.

Afterwards, the cars can join in a parade to the park lining up at the Express Café.

They will be led by a Clearfield Fire Department truck as they travel from Market Street to Weaver Street to Nichols Street and onto Park Street where they will enter the fairgrounds.

Vehicles can then park in the midway before enjoying some tasty food or the music at the grove stage. Three prizes will be awarded at about 8:15 p.m., Cramer said.

The Brews feature local wineries, distilleries and a beer tent, sponsored by the Allegheny Spay and Neuter Clinic in the park.

Food trucks, vendors and crafters will be available throughout the grounds while music plays on both the grove and grandstand stages.

Visit Clearfield County Executive Director Sue Swales-Vitullo said some of the vendors include Big Mama’s Sauce and a company that makes Bigfoot Balls.  

The music programs feature two of “Pennsylvania’s homegrown country music stars”, Josh Gallagher, who appeared on season 11 of The Voice and Adam Yarger who has a new album Scratched Up Vinyl.  Both will perform Saturday night on the main stage.

A private meet & greet with Josh Gallagher will be held prior to the concert from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Agriculture Building.

There are only 25 tickets on sale for this exclusive part of the event, Swales-Vitullo explained. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet Josh, ask him questions about his career and get photos and/or autographs.

Light refreshments will be served and one of them will win a basket filled with autographed merchandise.

Overall, Swales-Vitullo said this should be a “fun event”. She added that they wanted “to give the community something to do,” which would be at no cost to them.

The complete music schedule is as follows:

Friday, Aug. 19, 2022 – David H. Litz Grove Stage

• 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Brandon Giuffre
• 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Hell Bent

Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022 – David H. Litz Grove Stage

• 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Heather Olson & The Silver Eagle Band
• 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Jerry Schickling
• 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Markevich & MacDonald

Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022 – Main Stage

• 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Adam Yarger
• 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Josh Gallagher

Jerry Schickling, who is playing for free, will be collecting donations for the Emma Thomson Political Science Scholarship and selling raffle tickets for a signed guitar, CD, shirt and hat, which will also support the fund.

Schickling said on his Facebook page that the Thomson family “has been a major part of me for most of my life. We’ve been through the ups and downs of life for half a century.”

Emma, only 28 and a native of Johnstown, was killed in a car accident in the state of Indiana on Aug. 3. This was the same crash that killed U.S. Representative Jackie Walorski, for whom she was working for as a communications director.

Her mother, Linda was the Clearfield County Industrial Development Authority’s Director for a while before she moved to work to Johnstown to work for the Johnstown Area Regional Industries.

Emma’s father was David Thomson, who is a graduate of Clearfield Area High School and who worked for Clearfield Bank & Trust Company for over 24 years.

The companies responsible for sponsoring the Cruise & Brews Music Festival are CNB Bank, Budget Beverage, Novey Recycling, Pennsylvania Grain Processing and C. Classic Dodge.

It was organized as a joint venture by Visit Clearfield County, the Clearfield County Fair and Park Board, GANT News, Passport 98.5 Radio, and Bigfoot 102.1.

As a bonus, on Sunday the Central Mountain Regions Antique Automotive Car Show will be held at the fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.