Heritage Fair: Time to step up is now!

The 2025 version of the Heritage Fair has been saved, at least in theory; at least on paper. Public outcry and an influx of new business interest in the once-canceled event convinced organizers to revive the effort.

But now, the fair needs to be built from the ground up, in eight short weeks. The time to step forward is now for all those who complained about and criticized the decision; begged for another chance; promised to help and offered suggestions. It’s time to make good on the talk.

Dundalk Heritage Fair Association executive director Mark Krysiak has put out the plea for volunteers, vendors and crafters and has announced a volunteer open house to allow community members to officially volunteer and get specific assignments.

The open house will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, at the Patapsco Masonic Lodge, 2 Trading Place in downtown Old Dundalk.

Volunteers are needed in the administration, admissions, construction, electrical, hospitality, security and ticketing departments, according to a notice published by the organization.

For more information, or to volunteer if you can’t attend the meeting, contact volunteer coordinator Michelle Gielner, mgielner@dundalkheritagefair.com.

Food vendors of all kinds (think burgers, pizza, pit beef, ice cream, lemonade, ethnic foods) are needed as well. If your business in interested in participating, contact Chantell, clake@dundalkheritagefair.com.

Efforts are also underway to provide a robust arts and crafts area. Crafters interested in offering their wares should contact Amanda, amccartney@dundalkheritagefair.com.

At the risk of sounding snarky, now is the time for all the critics and naysayers to step away from their devices and make good on all the talk, all the comments, all the promises made. Those comments and promises played a role in the decision to revamp the fair, and it would be a shame to see the community is all talk and no action.

I worked with volunteer-driven organizations for a couple decades, and it didn’t take long to see a definite pattern in “participation.” A plea for help would go out, the excuses would roll in and, in the end, it was the same handful of tired, overworked and under-appreciated volunteers doing all the work. Folks wanted their children to participate in activities, but no one wanted to help provide those activities. Some parents were simply looking for inexpensive babysitting; a place to drop their kids and make them someone else’s responsibility for a few hours.

The fair is in a similar predicament. Community residents have made it very clear they don’t want the event to end. But there’s more to staging such an event than simply showing up the day of, paying admission, walking the grounds, buying a sandwich and enjoying some music. Thousands of hours of volunteer recruitment and training, logistics and sweat equity are already on the books before the first paid customer goes through the gates.

Step up, Dundalk! The fair organizers believed you when you promised to help if they’d follow through on this year’s event.

Don’t let them down.

Sister Geneviéve and the Pope

Many different layers of Pope Francis’ life were spotlighted over the week between his death and funeral, as media outlets assembled teams, made travel arrangements, prepared scripts and researched archived materials to appropriately and respectfully cover his funeral.

But the story that most touched my heart was that of the friendship between Sister Geneviéve Jeanningros and the pontiff.

I was left with a lot of questions needing to be answered and my curiosity piqued when I saw brief — and misleading — references to the nun. A video of a tearful, mourning nun crying at the corner of the roped-off area with the bier bearing the pope’s casket recently made the rounds on social media. Clearly, she was the only woman amid the sea of upper-level clergy present. A headline superimposed over the video said the nun broke protocol in entering the basilica to pay her respects and that no one had the heart to remove her.

But in reality, Sister, in recognition of her long-time and close friendship with Francis, was escorted to the area and allowed time to pray and mourn for her fallen friend. In those moments, Francis was not a pope, not the global leader of Catholics, not a bureaucrat, not a celebrity. He was a friend being respected, mourned and missed by another friend. It was simply a very human experience being played out on a global stage.

Sister was allowed to enter an area usually reserved for cardinals, bishops and Catholic priests, according to online reports, which, of course, excludes all women. Protocol may have been broken, but the nun was not the one to break it. It was broken for her. I for one am glad hearts prevailed and rules were overlooked to allow this moment to happen.

But even with rules broken to accommodate her, she remained outside of the stanchions roping off a smaller area containing the bier. She touched hearts around the world as she stood outside a bordering post, wiping her eyes with a tissue as she gazed upon the body of her friend. In a move that would no doubt have been approved by the pope, she was allowed the time to publicly grieve her personal loss.  

Sister Geneviéve mourns her friend, Pope Francis.
Photo via Yahoo

Sister Geneviéve, 81 and French-Argentine, met then-Bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 2005 under tragic circumstances. Geneviéve was the niece of Léonie Duquet, a French nun murdered in the 1970s while Argentina was ruled by a succession of dictators. When Duquet’s remains were found and identified in 2005,  Geneviéve met with the bishop, who granted permission for Duquet to be reburied in Buenos Aires.

Over the years since, their paths crossed often as they championed many of the same causes and attended many of the same gatherings. They were pictured together at many events, with Geneviéve sitting next to Francis, sharing a hug or enjoying a laugh in many of those images.

After being named pope in 2013, Francis often invited her to Mass at the Vatican and was known to visit her at her caravan residence, according to online reports.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, at Francis’ request, Geneviéve worked with fairground workers who lost their incomes because of imposed health restrictions. She also met with Latin American transgender sex workers during that time.

Sister championed the LGBTQ+ community and established the habit of visiting Francis weekly with a group of LGBTQ+ residents, according to the Agence France-Press. “I always wrote to him a little message to tell him who was coming,” she said, according to the AFP.

In an interview with Noticias Telemundo at the Vatican, she described Francis as “a brother, a pope, a friend.”

So as to protocol, in the end, right and good prevailed. This was a moment without job titles, without rigid rules, without a hierarchy that doesn’t value women, without gender exclusivity, without any other kind of bias.

Very simply, a friend had died and a surviving friend was allowed to mourn.

I’d expect nothing less from any church truly walking the walk.

Heritage Fair: Out of the ICU

Thanks to the continued support from Weis supermarkets and the new commitment of a Catonsville-based funeral home, Heritage Fair officials have decided there’s enough initial interest to revive the Heritage Fair for this year.

Dundalk Heritage Fair Association executive director Mark Krysiak announced Wednesday that enough pieces of the fair puzzle had come together, filling some holes that previously had doomed the event just short of its 50th anniversary.

In a letter published on the association’s Facebook page, Krysiak credited longtime donor Weis and new supporter MacNabb Funeral Home and Cremation Society of Maryland, as well as a new groundswell of volunteer interest, as the catalysts for ensuring at least one more year of the venerable celebration.

“We will once again be celebrating the 4th of July in Dundalk with a fair,” he announced in the letter. “The 50th Dundalk Heritage Fair will take place July 4, 5 and 6, 2025.”

In addition to corporate sponsorship, Krysiak credited the “patriotism and community spirit of the people of Dundalk." The committee’s initial decision to cancel the fair “clearly undervalued the tenacity of this wonderful group of people,” he wrote in his letter.

With great progress being made recruiting financial sponsors and volunteers, Krysiak said the “third leg” of the fair stool would be fair-goers: “Now we need to bring in the crowds.”

The fair, first staged in 1976 as the community’s celebration of the nation’s bicentennial, was never intended to be an annual event. It was organized as a one-time affair for that special summer. But it was so popular and well-received that organizers threw another one and another until it was part of Greater Dundalk’s landscape; a part of its very identity.

Over the years, big-name entertainment shared stages with local night club circuit bands, recreation council dancers and high school steel drummers. While country music band Shenandoah performed on the main stage, Uncle Dave could take the microphone in the karaoke garden. Boy Scouts pitched tents, crafters sold their hand-made wares, non-profits sold pizza and snowballs to fund their programs and squealing pigs raced around a course to the delight of similarly squealing children.

But much like their affect on the human body, so too did time and other elements take their toll on the fair. For way too many years now, the three-day holiday weekend seems to be a sure bet for bad weather. Not just Florida-like afternoon showers but torrential downpours resulting in park damages and power outages. Who can forget the derecho of 2012? The powerful, hugely destructive, fast-moving storm swept through Dundalk June 29 and 30, resulting in severe damage to trees and equipment at Heritage Park, as well as taking out all power. While the derecho is an extreme example of bad weather, the fair has suffered more than its fair share of weather-related closures.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performed at the 2012 Heritage Fair.
Photo by Marge Neal

In his letter of April 4, in which he announced the cancellation of this year’s and all future fairs, Krysiak cited the cumulative effects of weather and COVID-19, decreased attendance and fewer financial supporters as the collective reasons for the death of the event.

Public outcry and promises to help inspired Krysiak to hold what he called a town hall meeting. The meeting was used to provide a comprehensive and transparent explanation of the expenses of throwing such a party, as well as brainstorming ways to bring in new sponsors and volunteers.

After the meeting, Krysiak announced that if $20,000 could be raised in the next week, the committee would bring the fair back to life. The total budget for the fair is about $280,000, he said.

The “tremendous outpouring of support” shown through social media posts, online fundraisers and meeting attendance were enough to bring the fair back to life.

The committee is back, hard at work, and invites everyone to “join us for the best 4th of July celebration ever!”

To get involved:

For more information, contact Heritage Fair executive director Mark Krysiak at mkrysiak@dundalkheritagefair.com or 410-440-4907.

Volunteers are asked to send their contact information to mgielner@dundalkheritagefair.com.

Donations are being accepted via Venmo and PayPal and a GoFundMe account has been set up.

Physical checks can be sent to Dundalk Heritage Fair, P.O. Box 4022, Dundalk, MD 21222.

Is there a problem here?

I recently followed with great amusement an online conversation that played out on a Facebook community page.

A local gentleman indignantly proclaimed how irate he was over an experience he suffered at a local diner. He apparently was greatly damaged when a server said “no problem” in response to his “thank you” for some aspect of his dining experience. He was so angry at what he considered an inappropriate response that he gave the server a piece of his mind. The only acceptable responses were “you’re welcome” or perhaps “my pleasure,” he told the server. He apparently caused a scene, asked to talk to a manager and was ultimately asked to leave the establishment.

To say the comment did not get the Facebook response he expected is an understatement. I guess he expected folks to “tsk tsk” these darn rude youngsters today who show no respect for their elders, peers or the English language. Instead, people pretty much jumped down his throat, told him to get a grip and opined that “no problem” has indeed become an often-used, totally acceptable response to “thank you.” They not-so-politely told the guy he needed to get a life.

Then, the post took on another life, with commenters encouraging support of the diner and the server, who was ultimately identified as a popular, more-than-competent, pleasant, longtime server at the establishment. A movement grew to patronize the diner and request the server with the intent to leave extra hefty tips.

Facebook photo

“No problem” became a battle cry of sorts, with the phrase being worked into almost every angle of the discussion. Even diner management got in on the action. Someone published a picture of the diner’s sign that was emboldened with “no problem” among the other messages on its marquee.

When you really stop and think about it, "no problem" as a response to "thank you" makes more sense than "you're welcome." Welcome is a greeting of sorts, meant to make someone feel at home, comfortable, or perhaps part of the crowd. "You're welcome here" means this is a safe place for you and we're happy to have you here. We're glad to see you. "Welcome" is more appropriate at the front door than it is in response to being thanked for something. In my opinion, of course. "No problem," on the other hand, conveys that the person provided the service, product or help with ease and that it wasn't an issue. It was a service performed gladly.

In Googling the word welcome, and the whole thank you/you're welcome relationship, I came across a list of 17 alternative ways to respond to "thank you." Take a wild guess what number one on the list is!

There are many ways to respond to "thank you!"

Over the years, I admit to disliking certain phrases that morphed their way into common usage. One of my peeves is "have a good one." That phrase evolved from "have a good day." I never understood replacing a definitive one-syllable word with a vague, meaningless one-syllable word. The speaker certainly isn't saving any energy and is instead being less communicative. A good what? A good lunch? Trip? Luck? Bowel movement? Is it so damn hard to say "have a good day?"

Fortunately, thoughts in my mind rarely pass through my lips, and I am grateful that mind police don't yet exist (though I'm sure someone is working on it). I have a couple of like-minded word nerd friends and we routinely trade screen shots of horrible grammar, bastardized English and 500-word rants with absolutely no punctuation. We joke, privately tsk tsk and move on. I never rag on anyone in public, nor do I have the need to correct anyone in conversation. It is not my place to tell anyone else how they should talk.

In the case of the gentleman at the Boulevard Diner, we'll never know what possessed him to believe he could lecture a fellow human on what she could or could not say. Being tossed out of the restaurant should have been his first clue that he was out of line, and he could have let the issue die there. But he apparently felt so sure he was right that he sought solace and support from his Facebook community. When that blew up in his face, he left the group and disappeared into the online abyss.

But his indignant rant provided fun entertainment and some community bonding.  Over the next several days, numerous residents made new posts, proclaiming that they had enjoyed a lovely dining experience at the Boulevard Diner with “no problem.” The phrase was worked into many original posts and almost all comments. It also appears to have provided a financial windfall for the server and a ton of free publicity for the diner.

I’m keeping an eye out for the T-shirt!

Heritage Fair: To do or not to do?

 After several years of struggling with horrible weather, the aftermath of COVID, fewer (and aging) volunteers and decreased attendance, Heritage Fair organizers announced earlier this month they have decided to call it quits. The three-day festival that debuted in 1976 to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial would die two events shy of celebrating the semiquincentennial next summer.

I’m sure the volunteer staff did not make that decision lightly. But sometimes, the writing is on the wall and it just needs to be read. The fair doesn’t just happen overnight. Organizing, planning, scheduling, recruiting, obtaining legal advice, entertainment contracts, electrical upgrades, equipment rentals, outreach to local organizations and businesses — all of this takes place pretty much around the calendar. 

In a good year, the fair makes enough to bank some cash to use as seed money the following year. In years of devastating weather (which seems to be an automatic given of late) and other calamities, the decreased income puts the event in a financial hole for the next year.

Heritage Park all dressed up for the fair.
Photo courtesy of Dundalk Heritage Fair Association Facebook page.

Volunteers play a huge role in staging the fair, from erecting fences, staffing ticket booths and manning phones to emptying trash cans, troubleshooting problems and providing eyes and ears in all corners of Heritage Park.

Every year, the committee puts out the call for volunteers and requests donations from individuals and businesses alike. Every penny helps, and $5 donations are just as appreciated as the big corporate bucks. And every year, it gets harder and harder to get volunteers to commit to the tough behind-the-scenes work required to stage a production as complicated as Heritage Fair. Many of the “young” volunteers are in their 50s, while any originals still involved are much older.

When I wrote for The Dundalk Eagle, we routinely published stories detailing the intricacies of staging the event. We usually highlighted the fencing crew, a group of guys who took a week of their vacation time to dig post holes and run chain-link fencing around the perimeter of Heritage Park. Much of the work involved in staging the festival is far from glamorous. Folks volunteer from the heart and not for accolades.

So this year, after several years of literally getting washed out by torrential thunderstorms, the committee made the painful decision to pull the plug.

And in somewhat predictable behavior, Greater Dundalk keyboard warriors clutched their collective pearls and cried out about the proposed demise. They chimed in with comments like “Why didn’t they ask for help first?” “Why wait until so late to ask for help?” “Why weren’t we told?” “Why are we just finding out about this?"

You get the picture. A few people took it even further, with one guy basically proclaiming himself the leader of a new effort to stage the festival so the community wouldn’t lose such an important landmark event. Several people took it upon themselves to solicit donations, arrange fundraisers and ask for suggestions for a new event. These people were going to go to the county executive and the county councilman to demand this not be canceled, not realizing, of course, that the fair, while it depends on some county services and utilizes a county park and school property, is not a government function.

Seeing the level of renewed, potential volunteer interest, fair organizers set up a community meeting to communicate needs, gauge interest and discuss the possibility of keeping the event alive. Executive director Mark Krysiak published a notice that was shared extensively on social media, and lots of people said they would be there.

The meeting was held April 17. That afternoon, the excuses began to roll in on social media. Citing one reason or another, many of the more vocal residents weren’t going to be able to attend after all. Would it be live-streamed? Would it be taped?

On April 18, committee members posted about the meeting and said that, while attendance wasn’t what they were expecting, based on online chatter, it was a start. The message essentially is that if $20,000 can be raised in the next week, they’ll give it a go.

But the keyboard warriors went at it again, full of suggestions that just show they have no idea how expensive it is to run such an event. One poster said there should be no entry fee and carnival rides should be free. One guy just doesn’t understand why, if $20,000 is raised by the community, anyone should have to pay to get in. The $20K should cover everything, he said.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say $20K might pay the electric bill. Or maybe the portable toilet bill. Again, just guessing, but I’d say the overall budget for the fair as it has existed in the past is well north of $200,000. I won’t bore you with the list of obvious and not-so-obvious expenses, but anyone with experience mounting large-scale special events is smiling and nodding their heads right now.

Online suggestions (again, from people who didn’t attend the meeting) were along the lines of more, more, more, while not wanting to pay for anything. Bring back the crafter tents, have more and better carnival rides, offer more games and activities for kids, lower food prices (which is totally out of the committee’s hands), lower vendor fees, bring in food trucks (speaking of way over-priced food!), have a petting zoo, have a bingo tent. Some good ideas, but all increase the need for more money, more space, more volunteers and more planning and logistics time and expertise. To say nothing of the fact the fair, if it happens, is now a mere 10 weekends away.

If the committee and the community are serious about wanting to preserve the would-be 49-year-old event, perhaps the answer is to scale back a bit this year. Offer a two-day event (Saturday and Sunday) with perhaps one less stage; recruit volunteers and sponsors; and use this year’s (smaller) fair as a laboratory to educate and train new volunteers so they have a true awareness of and appreciation for the effort that goes into throwing such a huge party. (I dare say the folks who camp out at the beer garden for the duration have no idea the hours and sweat equity their neighbors invest to give them that opportunity).

Then, with a solid roster of committed volunteers and a head start on fundraising, go all out on next year’s shindig for that big semiquincentennial.

And if it’s necessary, the 50th anniversary would be an admirable time to call it quits.

To get involved:

If you’re serious about putting your muscle and/or money where your keyboard is, contact Heritage Fair executive director Mark Krysiak at mkrysiak@dundalkheritagefair.com or 410-440-4907.

Volunteers are asked to send their contact information to mgielner@dundalkheritagefair.com.

Donations are being accepted via Venmo and PayPal and a GoFundMe account has been set up.

Physical checks can be sent to Dundalk Heritage Fair, P.O. Box 4022, Dundalk, MD 21222.