BVA Community Day at Kennywood returning

It was a longtime tradition before the pandemic forced it to stop in 2020.

A tradition that generations of Mon Valley families have considered an unofficial summer holiday is returning this year as organizers bring back Belle Vernon Area Community Day at Kennywood Park.

The event is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14, with tickets available for $35 through three local youth organizations. Organizers say the tickets can be used any day Kennywood is open through Sept. 7.

The return marks the revival of a community tradition that dates back more than a century. The annual outing was canceled in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with organizers citing park restrictions and public health concerns.

At the time, Belle Vernon Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rich Saxberg said residents had long viewed the annual trip as a special day for the community.

“For over 100 years, residents in the Belle Vernon area have always marked the second Tuesday in July as an unofficial holiday,” Saxberg said when announcing the cancellation. “It was always the day we celebrated with family and friends at Kennywood Park.”

Among those welcoming the event’s return is Tom Rodriguez, whose memories of Kennywood stretch back more than seven decades and reflect the role the annual outing has played in the lives of countless local families.

Rodriguez recalled riding the train from Donora to Kennywood as a child in the early 1950s and being unable to sleep the night before because of the excitement.

“The merry-go-round was one of my favorites. The Turtles. Noah Ark,” Rodriguez wrote in a collection of memories shared with organizers. “I would ride the coasters but was always a little nervous. The Potato Patch. The Penny Arcade. Yes. Most everything was only pennies to play any games.”

As a teenager in the late 1950s, Rodriguez said he began making the trip with friends and remembered both the thrills and challenges that came with growing up.

“My friends would always give me the business about being afraid to go on some rides,” Rodriguez wrote. “I still remember getting sick. It was after I rode the Round Up.”

He also remembered an era when riders purchased tickets for individual attractions and shared one particularly memorable experience.

“I remember riding the Tunnel of Love,” Rodriguez wrote. “Think that was first time I got a kiss from a girl I knew from school.”

As the years passed, Rodriguez said the tradition became a family event, first with his children and later with his grandchildren.

“In the ’70s and ’80s we would take our 4 children. They enjoyed going and were just as excited,” Rodriguez wrote. “In the 2000s, I would go every year to see my 11 grandkids.”

For Rodriguez, the signif- icance of Community Day extends beyond the rides and attractions.

“Family, memories and friendship are the main reasons for bringing Belle Vernon Area Community Day Back,” he said.

Tickets will be available beginning today through the Washington Township Youth Association, Rostraver Youth Baseball Association and Rostraver Township Girls Softball.