Mt. Pleasant Glass & Ethnic Festival rings in 40 years

Around 100 vendors lined the streets during the festival.

By HALEY DAUGHERTY
TribLive

Peter O’Rourke is trying to keep the Mt. Pleasant glass history alive.

He began practicing glasswork nearly 60 years ago and has followed his passion with the art ever since.

O’Rourke trained at Galway Crystal in his native Ireland until 1977. He worked in that country until coming to the United States to work with Lenox in 1981. He stayed with the company until 2002, when the Mt. Pleasant factory closed.

He runs his own business, O’Rourke Cut Glass & Gifts, out of the former L.E. Smith Glass Co. on Liberty Street in Mt. Pleasant.

“We’re trying to keep the history of Mt. Pleasant glass going,” O’Rourke said.

One way he does this is by participating in the longstanding Mt. Pleasant Glass and Ethnic Festival.

O’Rourke has attended the festival for about 30 years, first under Lenox and now for his own business.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the three-day festival celebrates the rich traditions of the Mt. Pleasant area, highlighting the borough’s glass-making history with live glassblowing, cutting and demonstrations.

There were about 100 vendors lining the streets over the weekend, said Glass Festival volunteer Joe Bauer. Planning begins in February each year.

Sharon Lesko, Mt. Pleasant municipal manager and Glass Festival volunteer, said getting money for the festival has become increasingly challenging over the years. The festival is completely volunteer-run and is funded by sponsors and community grants. Neither resource is as readily available as it used to be, Lesko said.

“You can’t just go to your local banks,” Lesko said. “They used to have community grants, those kinds of things. Now they have to go through corporate. … We’re still getting from some of those banks, but nowhere near what we used to. We just have to cut back here and there.”

The festival has cut back in the live entertainment department of the festival over the years to help lower costs. This year’s celebration cost about $200,000 to put on, which is down from what’s been spent in previous years.

“I think about 50,000 people come to this each year,” Bauer said. “We get a lot of out-of-state people.”

Bauer said the family ties in the community go far beyond the Mt. Pleasant municipal line, and the festival draws people to the area from all over.

“This festival is registered with the Library of Congress,” Bauer said.

Dan Sullivan has been attending the Mt. Pleasant Glass Festival as a vendor for over a decade. He’s been working with glass since 2002, when he took his first class at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. He ended up studying glassblowing in Canada before moving back to the Pittsburgh area.

He founded his business, Original Glass Worx, in 2012 and began attending festivals full-time. Sullivan enjoys the “endless possibilities” of glasswork.

“You don’t know if it’s going to break or if it’s going to come out the way you want it to,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes glass does what it wants. Sometimes you have a plan and then, you know, things change. It can end up working out better like a happy accident.”

Sullivan creates ornaments of all sizes. Some are large and feature strategically placed driftwood pieces. He also produces wearable pieces such as galaxy pendants and eye sculpture pendants.

Onlookers stopped by his tent throughout the day Saturday to watch him create pieces in front of them.

Newer to the craft, Lynn Washko began working with glass about five years ago.

“I signed up for a class to make a suncatcher during covid, and it was really bad and I couldn’t get it out of my head,” Washko said. “I started buying equipment little by little at home to make pieces.”

She owns Gaga’s Glass and had a tent at the Glass Festival for the second year.

Washko works with stained glass and makes windows and window hangings. She was selling window hangings and taking custom orders during the festival Saturday. Washko was grinding glass into desired shapes in her tent before using copper foil and solder to attach the pieces together to make the shapes she wants.

The festival didn’t stop at glass. Folks were able to find attractions throughout the festival, including a live animal show featuring the likes of a laughing kookaburra and a ring-tailed lemur, as well as food, games, live music and a parade.

The festival featured arts and crafts vendors, glass vendors, food and drink, a kids’ fun spot, festival pageants and popular contests such as the cutest baby and pet photo competitions.

A parade procession featuring different community groups started at Main Street’s intersection with Eagle Street and ended at Silver Street.