By: Mark Marek, Coal Region Connection
THE BAVARIAN SUMMER FESTIVAL AT LAKEWOOD PARK--for 15 years it was 1 of the biggest draws in the coal region. Click LIKE if you can still smell the authentic German food, hear the German music, & taste the cold beer.
Kermit Dietrich & his family launched the Bavarian Festival in 1969 after 4 years of planning & searching for a site. Don Conover, who ran several festivals at Hunter Mt. NY, was also involved. Kermit was a former Reading Brewery advertising & sales manager He knew planning & giving people what they want were his keys to success.
The 1969 Festival ran 6 days & attracted 96,000 people. That compares with the 1977 festival that ran 17 days & pulled in 410,000 people. It's been said upwards of 1/2 million people visited the Bavarian Festival annually during the late 70s peak years.
Remember the oompah & polka bands, the beer wagon being pulled by 6 authentic Budweiser Clydesdale horses, & wall-to-wall people in the beer gardens? Crowds were so massive the former park skating rink was converted to Beer Hall #2. Notable festival visitors included former President Jimmy Carter's brother, Billy Carter, & Clayton Moore, aka "The Lone Ranger". 1 thing locals will surely never forget--the massive traffic jams on Route 54.
After Kermit passed away in 1980, the festival was run by his wife Alta, & children Scott, Holly, & Kelly. Due to declining crowds, 1983 was the final year of the Bavarian Festival. A Lancaster county man bought the mailing list & festival name in 1984. Equipment & festival artifacts were auctioned off in April, 1984. Lakewood Park also closed in 1984. The spirit of the Bavarian Festival did continue to live on for several years at Dietrich's Gambrinus Restaurant & Bar on top of the Blue Mt. south of Tamaqua.
Below is the picture of my souvenir beer pitcher from the final 1983 festival--a piece of coal region history I don't plan to part with.
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