Jul 31, 2024 By Karen Mansfield 2 min read

Courtesy Rain Day Festival

It didn’t rain on Rain Day in Waynesburg on July 29, but festival-goers and participants remained upbeat. The festival included an umbrella decorating contest.

Waynesburg celebrated its 151st Rain Day on Monday. But for only the 33rd time in the history of Rain Day, no precipitation fell on July 29.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t record any rain, but hopefully we will next year,” said Rain Day Festival Coordinator Krysten DeBolt. “We got a lot of positive feedback from vendors and festival-goers, and it was a great day.”

Despite the lack of rainfall, the Rain Day Festival was filled with activities that entertained festival-goers throughout the day, including several contests (among them, the umbrella decorating contest), musicians and bands, games, and food.

The hat bet – an annual tradition that goes back to 1939 – was won by retired Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Shazier. According to the bet, made between the mayor of the borough and a celebrity, the borough bets it will rain and a celebrity puts up a hat of his choosing to say that it won’t.

Among those who have participated are Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Mohammed Ali, Troy Aikman, Mister Rogers, Willard Scott, and the Dixie Chicks.

DeBolt said the Rain Day Festival committee will deliver a hat to the Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation, which he founded after suffering a spinal contusion during a football game in 2017 that led to his retirement.

The festival featured about 100 vendors, and DeBolt said Waynesburg Boy Scout Troop 1280 camped overnight to monitor rainfall.

Despite the lack of precipitation, rain has fallen nearly 79% of the time on July 29 since a local pharmacist, William Allison, began keeping records of rainfall on that date.

“Seeing the amount of people who came out on a Monday was a great thing. I was concerned because it was a weekday, but there was a large crowd, and vendors said they sold out of a lot of items and food,” DeBolt said.