Ellwood City Arts Crafts and Foods Festival

Bittersweet. It’s a feeling that Lee Marinaccio knows all too well. Lee lost his father, Pat, mid January shortly before his dad would have celebrated his 93rd birthday. That’s the bitter part that Lee lives with. Losing a parent is a tragedy that stares into the face of thousands on a daily basis, but for each person that loss is something personal, something that no one else can possibly understand. Then, a sweet surprise came in the form of a Festival Hall of Fame induction that will honor Pat Marinaccio’s Festival legacy forever. You see, Marinaccio was a part of…

He will forever be known as the man on a mission to save the Festival fireworks. Eric Rayner, 26, of Ellport wasn’t going to let the 2019 Festival go on without the beloved fireworks. He refused to settle for it. So Rayner rallied the community with a goal of raising $5,000 to save the display. Not only did he meet the goal … he more than doubled it, raising $11,230. His charismatic approach to inspiring others was not lost in the dollars and cents and money matters of the fundraiser. His step-up-and-do-something attitude earned Rayner an induction into the Ellwood…

Joe Ferrara is no stranger to the stage, and that charisma and charm is what made him the perfect person to lead and organize the entertainment at the Festival. Ferrara one of the Festival’s founders was there from day one and even before that. Festival Chairwoman Raylene Boots revealed a little history and told a story of a pre-Festival entertainment event that Ferrara helped to organize. It was a musical revue thought up by 2018 Hall of Fame Inductee Mary Wiley. She presented the idea to Denny Schill and Ferrara, who gave a thumbs up. She suggested that the revue…