WELLSBORO, P.A. (WENY) -- Despite the rain visitors poured into the Green on the morning of Friday, June 16th, celebrating the festivities of the 81st Annual Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival. The Green was flooded with not just rain, but food, handmade crafts, and even live animals.

“(Wellsboro) takes the canyon, the people, (and) they make it so beautiful,” Regan Regina, the 2022 Laurel Queen, said.  

The festival aims to honor the mountain laurel, the state flower of Pennsylvania, and showcase everything small businesses in Pennsylvania have to offer. Visitors not only had their choice of craft food and clothing, but were also given the warmth of a welcoming community.  

“I love that we've made such a little town so welcoming, warm, and big,” Regina said.  

Chef Tim Jutzi has been selling vinaigrettes and salad dressing at Laurel Festival over the last seven years. He says he comes back every year not just for fun, but because it helps keep him in business.  Tim added the Laurel Festival provides an outlet for dozens of business owners to get their brand names out there.  

“The small business is the backbone of America, and as you can see everybody here is a small business,” Jutzi said, adding, “That's what brings everybody back here.”  

People can look at the full schedule of events slated for the rest of the 2023 celebration online.