Category Archives: Potter County Visitors Center

Quickly becoming an annual tradition celebrating art, music and community the GaleFest promises to be bigger and better than last year! This year’s weekend will begin on Friday September 4 with Jacobs Hollow in the pavilion at John J. Collins Memorial Park at 6 p.m. A flurry of activity will pick up Saturday, September 5 beginning at 10:00 a.m. with artists and artisans in the park and an art walk throughout the community, along with a quilt show at the library. At noon, there will be a children’s sidewalk art contest with prizes and a mural painting activity. The “Up Close Magic of Randy” will be featured with balloon animals, magic tattoos and magic dollars at 2 p.m. in the park. Bringing the weekend event to a memorable close will be the music of Randy Clark followed by Nashville Recording Artist George Ducas beginning at 7 p.m. All events are free to the public. We invite you to come out to Galeton and enjoy some great family fun with arts and music. For more information, visit our website at http://www.visitgaleton.com/. This event is sponsored by the Galeton Chamber of Commerce and the Gale Foundation.

GaleFest Brings Local Musicians and Nashville Recording Artist to Galeton
The 2009 GaleFest will be bringing local musician Jakob’s Hollow, country music artist Randy Clark, and Nashville recording artist George Ducas to perform during the Labor Day Weekend events.

Jakob’s Hollow will start the weekend off with a performance on Friday evening from 6 – 8 p.m. This accoustic foursome comes with a culmination of sounds from folk to blues to everything in between. On Saturday, opening for headliner George Ducas at 7 p.m. will be country music artist Randy Clark. Randy’s foot-stompin’, good feelin’ music will have you up out of your seats. Rounding out the evening will be Nashville recording artist George Ducas beginning at 8 p.m. Ducas first burst on the scene in the mid 90s, searing the charts with the top five hit “Lipstick Promises” and earning a reputation as one of the industry’s most distinctive young talents. In the interim, he’s been cranking out hits for other artists. His songs have been recorded by Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Gary Allan, George Jones, Dixie Chicks, Randy Rogers Band, Radney Foster, the Eli Young Band and Sara Evans, who scored a No. 1 hit with Ducas’ “A Real Fine Place to Start.”

The GaleFest is free to all and everyone is encouraged to come to Galeton and enjoy a good time with friends, family, art and of course, great music.

Calling All Quilters – Display Your Quilt at the Gale Fest
Do you have a quilt that holds special memories for you or one that you proudly have made and would love to display? If you do then join us at the Gale Fest in Galeton as we will be displaying our quilts at the Galeton Public Library. The quilt show will be held throughout the day on Saturday, September 5. All quilts to be displayed should be dropped off at the Potter County Education Council’s Galeton Office at 20 Bridge Street no later than 4pm Friday, September 4. We are looking forward to seeing a wonderful array of handmade quilts. If you have any questions, please contact Deanna Sherman at 814-435-9490.

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View video of the past weekend’s Potter Tioga Maple Festival in downtown Coudersport on our YouTube Channel.

www.youtube.com/visitpottercountypa

Potter County, PA (May 15, 2009) Beginning Memorial Weekend, Ski Denton will open select weekends for lift-accessed mountain biking and scenic lift rides. Ski Denton has a well-established trail system for mountain bike enthusiasts, downhill and cross-country alike. Scenic lift rides are offered anytime during the posted operating schedule and provide the rider with beautiful panoramic views of God’s Country.

“Race the Wilds” is the theme this summer at Ski Denton as the calendar of events includes a cross-country bike race and a 5K running race.

Ski Denton, located along the Route 6 corridor, will be open May 23-24 from 9:00-4:00. Sunday, May 24 at 8:00AM will be the starting time for the third annual “Ride the Wilds” mountain bike race. Racers will choose between the 10 mile novice course or the 20 mile advanced course, both of which will remain within the bounds of Denton Hill State Park. In addition, Country Ski & Sport of Wellsboro will be on-site offering bike demos and various bike accessories.

New this summer at Ski Denton, “Run the Wilds”, a 5K running race will be held Sunday, July 5 at 8:00AM. The race will take place within the bounds of Denton Hill State Park on varied terrain including dirt trails, access roads, and ski slopes. Operating hours July 4-5 will be 9:00-6:00. The extended hours are to accommodate those visiting the Pennsylvania Lumberman’s Museum for the Bark Peelers’ Convention, scheduled for the same weekend, who would like to stop by for a scenic lift ride. Discounted tickets will be offered to those who present proof of attendance at time of lift ride purchase.

The summer season rounds out with two weekends in autumn, October 3-4 and 10-11. There’s no better way to embrace the flaming fall foliage at its peak than from the chair lift. Scenic lift riders may disembark at the top of the mountain or remain seated to continue the ride to the bottom.

Ski Denton offers a wide range of trails to accommodate mountain bikers, from easy to difficult. Eight hour lift tickets are $25 for an adult and $17.50 for children ages 6-11. Scenic lift riders may come anytime during the posted operating schedule and the cost is $5 for an adult and $3 for children under the age of 12. For more information, please visit www.skidenton.com.

2009 Summer Operating Schedule:
May 23-24, 9:00-4:00
July 4-5, 9:00-6:00
October 3-4, 9:00-4:00
October 10-11, 9:00-4:00

Contact:
contact@skidenton.com
(814) 435-2115

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On June 28, 2009 there will be Pontoon Boat Excursion at Sinnemahoning State Park. Enjoy a relaxing and scenic 45 minute tour of the dam as we explore wetlands and the Bald Eagles. Rides begin at noon, 1:30p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Our pontoon boat has 18 available seats. Reservations will be taken by calling the park office. You may also sign up in person at the park office until noon. Afterwards, reservations will be taken at the Eagle Watchers Tent at the boat launching area.

Please be at the boat launching area 5 minutes prior to departure or forfeit your space. For more information on tour dates and prices, call the park office at (814) 647-8401.

If you need an accommodation to participate in park activities due to a disability, please contact the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks: (888) PA-PARKS (voice), (888) 537-7294 (TTY), (717) 558-2711 (local or international TTY), (800) 654-5984 (PA AT&T Relay Service). With at least three days notice, interpreters for people who are deaf or hard of hearing are available for educational programs. For more information visit our web site at http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/

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“A thin fish is a healthy fish”- that’s pretty much all the advice Bob Curry was told about raising fish when he purchased Rainbow Paradise Trout Farm in Potter County. He didn’t know anything about rearing fish prior to taking ownership in 1979. “It was a lot of trial and error in the beginning,” said Curry, “Since then, we’ve hatched successfully for 26 years.”

Rainbow Paradise Trout Farm is located on Route 6, just five miles east of Coudersport. Bob and his wife Alma have operated the farm for nearly 30 years. Originally from the Philadelphia area, they often visited Alma’s brother who was a surgeon at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital and finally decided to make the move because the area seemed like a great place to raise their children.

A high school teacher at the time they moved, the self-taught aquaculturist currently produces five species of trout including rainbow, brook, brown, golden and the rarely found tiger trout. The tiger trout, a hybrid cross between the brook and brown trout is not seen that often out in the streams because of the 14 percent successful hatch rate from the egg.
For over 50 years, Rainbow Paradise has treated visitors to an excellent fishing experience that requires no license and sets no limit on the amount of fish taken. You don’t even need to bring your own rod. You can rent the equipment, purchase bait and they will even clean and wrap your catch for you. While 70 percent of their business comes from fee fishing, Rainbow Paradise provides stocking for private ponds and streams and also supplies fish for many local fishing tournaments.

At first, all that was offered was “catch and keep” fishing, but in the early 1980’s, they began offering catch and release plans. “Many times people would not want to take their fish with them,” said Curry. “They would pay us, but they didn’t want to carry around a bunch of smelly fish…. it just didn’t feel right to us.” So they began offering a catch and release fly fishing plan that operates by the hour, and later added catch and release fishing with bait and lures.

In 2005, Rainbow Paradise began offering a fly fishing school. In house trainer, Dick Hribar, can custom build lessons based on your prior experience. Half day to two day instruction includes techniques, equipment choice, choosing the correct fly and fish location. Guests can then try their luck on Paradise Pond, the two acre trophy pond that contains fish from 14 to 30 inches.

Many “sportsmen” feel that fee fishing in a pond is the next step above shooting fish in a barrel. Curry’s son in law, Glenn Batson, says that pond fishing and stream fishing are not much different at Rainbow Paradise. “It’s like a giant pool in the middle of a stream,” said Batson. “The flow through our ponds in any particular area is 1,000 gallons a minute.” The series of ponds is spring fed from the west side of Denton Hill, 2 miles east of the property. “Because the ponds are spring fed, the average temperature is around 60 degrees, which is comparable to streams in the area and perfect for the fish. “

Visitors to the trout farm have come from all over the world. “We had a group of people here from Asia. I got to talking to them and realized they were from the same province in the Philippines as my wife. They were practically neighbors for years”, said Curry. A customer from Ohio said he had been in Connecticut attending a wedding, and made a special detour on his way home. “I was here three years ago, “ the gentleman said. “ I knew it was on Route 6 just after the state police barracks. I only have about 3 hours but I had to come back.”

For decades, Potter County has been known as a fisherman’s paradise, hosting past presidents and celebrities. Part of that tradition, for thousands of visitors, has been Rainbow Paradise. With the next generation involved in the business, it looks like “paradise” will only keep getting better. Batson said that plans are in the works for next year, when they hope to host fishing tournament at the farm.

The operating season is April – September: Open every day except Wednesdays from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Weekends only in March and October. For more information call (814) 274-8309 or visit their website www.rainbowparadisetroutfarm.com

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Bring the whole family to Cherry Springs to celebrate the wonders of the universe and the International Year of Astronomy at the second annual Astronomy Festival, August 21-23, 2009 from 4:30 pm to 10:30 pm each night.

Cherry Springs is teaming up with Penn State University’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics to provide activities for kids of all ages, and you don’t have to be an expert in Astronomy to join in on the fun. Enjoy feature presentations on the latest in Astronomy research, star chart making and lessons, a telescope building workshop just for the kids on August 23 (pre registration at the welcome tent is required), solar viewing, bottle rocket launching, comet making, and Mars Rover Demonstrations.

What’s an Astronomy festival without stargazing? Be sure to stop by the Night Skies Viewing Area each night at 9:00 pm, where we’ll have our telescopes set up on some of the amazing night sky objects that are visible at that time of the year. On Saturday August 22 join staff of the National Public Observatory (NPO) for Stars-N-Parks, Cherry Springs’ longest-running program.

The festival will be held rain or shine. All activities except stargazing will be held on the Astronomy field. Visitors are asked to park their vehicles in the large lot on the North side of the park.

?For other programs see our calendar of events online at www.visitpaparks.com. If you have a question about Cherry Springs or our programs, please call 814-435-5010.

?In the event of rain or more than 75% cloudy skies, observing programs may be modified and will occur in the park pavilion near the Astronomy Field.

?For your safety, programs will be cancelled in the event of severe weather.

? Dress warmly, Cherry Springs can be cool and breezy, even in summertime.

? Please cover flashlights with a red filter or brown paper bag.
Find links to local weather and clear sky predictions at www.visitpaparks.com -under Cherry Springs State Park’s “Weather” link.

?If you need an accommodation to participate in park activities, due to a disability, please contact the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks: 888-PA-PARKS (voice), 888-537-7294 (TTY), 717-558-2711 (local or international TTY), 800-654-5984 (PA AT&T Relay Service).

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Our offices recieved this email from Verizon Wireless. The Galeton area now has cell phone coverage.

Hello, I would like to make sure that the appropriate Government Agencies within Potter County are made aware of a recent cell site that Verizon activated in Galeton PA last week. I realize since this has gone through zoning etc that you most likely already know but do want to ensure that local towns / municipalities are aware.

Regards,
Mike Makuszak
Government Sales Manager
Central NY & S Tier

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September 6, 2009

4:00 pm

Lake Exploration

Enjoy a relaxing afternoon paddle around Lyman Lake and observe animals in their natural habitat that are active that time of day. Participants must be at least 12 years old and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Participants should wear shoes that can get wet. Life vests must be worn and can be provided. Pre registration is required by calling the Lyman Run office. Meet at the boat launch.

For more information, or to register, contact Lyman Run at 814-435-5010.

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Labor Day Programs at Cherry Springs and Lyman Run State Parks

September 4, 2009 7:00 pm
Natchless Fire Building

One of the most important things to know when camping is how to start a fire. But how do you start one if you do not have matches? Our naturalist will show you some fire starting techniques and share important fire safety information as well. Once the fire is lit, enjoy a few fireside stories. Meet the naturalist at the pavilion.

September 4, 5, and 6, 2009 9:00 pm each night
Lunar Sea Search
Enjoy three nights of searching for lunar seas. September’s full moon is known as the Full Corn Moon, and it will be full on September 4. Learn the origin of this name and the Moon’s history as you discover its landscape while using a moon map to identify some of the features that mark its surface. Try to find the sea where the astronauts landed in 1969. Use the Moon’s light to demonstrate its phases and also to understand how it affects human night vision.
Visitors should park their cars in the parking lot on the North side of the park, and follow the lighted walkway to the meeting area.

September 5, 2009 7:00 pm

Solar Viewing

Discover why the Sun is so important to life on earth, and then take a closer look at the star through the park’s specially designed solar telescope. Try to find features such as sunspots and prominences. Meet the naturalist in the Night Skies viewing area.

In the event of rain or more than 75% cloudy skies, observing programs may be modified and will occur in the park pavilion near the Astronomy Field.
For your safety, programs will be cancelled in the event of severe weather.
Dress warmly; Cherry Springs can be cool and breezy, even in summertime.
Find links to local weather and clear sky predictions at www.visitpaparks.com -under Cherry Springs State Park’s “Weather” link.

Lyman Run State Park
September 6, 2009 4:00 pm Lake Exploration

Enjoy a relaxing afternoon paddle around Lyman Lake. Observe animals in their natural habitat that are active that time of day. Participants must be at least 12 years old and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Participants should wear shoes that can get wet. Life vests must be worn and can be provided. Pre registration is required by calling the Lyman Run office at 814-435-5010. Meet at the boat launch.

For other programs see our calendar of events online at www.visitpaparks.com. If you have a question about our programs, please call 814-435-5010.

· If you need an accommodation to participate in park activities, due to a disability, please contact the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks: 888-PA-PARKS (voice), 888-537-7294 (TTY), 717-558-2711 (local or international TTY), 800-654-5984 (PA AT&T Relay Service).

Read more on Labor Day Programs at the State Parks…

Click on the image below to view the full details and contact information.

Friday kicks off the Maple Festival in downtown Coudersport. I really look forward to it and have since I was a kid. You don’t even have to be near the Courthouse Square to start enjoing the festival- the maple sugar smell fills the area. This is due to the Maple Syrup demonstration at the “Sugar Shack”.

The Potter-Tioga Maple Producers set up thier giant tent today. Tommarrow it will be filled with syrups and candy. Festival-goers can also get Maple Cotton-Candy and Maple Milkshakes. Then there is “food alley” where you can get all the famous festival treats from the blooming onion to the coveted funnel cake.

As a kid, going to the Maple Festival was part of the springtime routine, ususally follows leek digging and fishing season. Which after writing that makes sense, because I probably needed something sweet after the savory dishes of leeks and fish.

But who am I kidding, the real reason I was excited because the Maple Festival was also the first opportunity to get in some quality time with the “Merry-Mixer” and “The Giant Slide” and all of the other awesome rides and games that are at the Maple Festival.

Now in my older years, I look at the Maple Festival in a new light, a chance to support the local maple producers, see friends who have been hibernating, and see what our great local vendors have to offer.

I’ll be on the square all weekend handing out visitor information on Potter County, If by chance, I’m not there I’ll be in line for my yearly maple milkshake.

Read more on Maple Festival Highlights…

Check out the right hand column of this page and take our new poll.

What is your favorite Potter County event?

We also invite you to tell your favorite event stories, share them with us, you can even attach a photo.

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