A ‘moist’ important tradition: Precipitation falls on Rain Day
Participants in the Rain Day Festival鈥檚 umbrella decorating contest needed cover on Friday. It drizzled on and off during the festivities, which is exactly what organizers expected 鈥� and hoped for. (Photo by Cindy Ekas)
Zoey Coneybear, 5, of Jefferson was the first place winner in the Rain Day Festival鈥檚 umbrella decorating contest. Coneybear is standing with festival mascot Wayne Drop and 2022 Miss Rain Day Isabelle Tedrow of Jefferson. (Photo by Cindy Ekas)
Miss Rain Day Isabelle Tedrow of Jefferson handed out awards and talked to patrons Friday at the annual Rain Day Festival in Waynesburg. (Photo by Cindy Ekas)
Wayne Drop, mascot of the Rain Day Festival in Waynesburg (Photo by Cindy Ekas)
Magnola Katchmark, 11 months, of Prosperity won the Diaper Derby Contest Friday during Waynesburg鈥檚 Rain Day Festival. (Photo by Cindy Ekas)
Three-year-old Emmie Policz鈥檚 Christmas-in-July-themed umbrella won second place in the Rain Day umbrella decorating on Friday. She鈥檚 pictured with her mom, Alisha Policz of Waynesburg. (Photo by Cindy Ekas)
It was truly Rain Day in Waynesburg, when precipitation made an appearance at 4:22 a.m. (Photo by Cindy Ekas)
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Pesky precipitation didn鈥檛 dampen the spirits of people in Waynesburg last Friday because that鈥檚 exactly what borough officials and residents expected would happen on Rain Day.
Athena Bowman, administrative assistant for the borough, said July 29鈥檚 official rain time was recorded as 4:22 a.m. by rain watchers Waynesburg Boy Scout Troops Greene 1280 and 9280. It marked the 117th time in 149 years it has rained on Rain Day.
鈥淲e are very excited about it,鈥� Bowman said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we want on Rain Day.鈥�
At 10 a.m., there was a little drizzle coming down which made it a perfect Rain Day. People could enjoy all of the activities without getting soaked.
The annual Rain Day Festival included entertainment all day long on two stages, with lots of arts and craft booths, hometown food booths, children鈥檚 games and more.
The festival kicked off with the judging of the umbrella decorating contest participants. Other contests include Baby Rain Day, a Diaper Derby, Little Miss Rain Drop with three age categories, a coloring contest and a window decorating contest for downtown merchants.
鈥淩ain Day is the only holiday anywhere in the world that is not a success unless it rains. It is just another day to the rest of the world, but to the people of Waynesburg it is special activities and memories made by all,鈥� Bowman said.
Rain Day is special not just because it has been a tradition for more than a century, but also because it is an event where people throughout the country and even around the world hope for rain to fall in Waynesburg.
According to the history of Rain Day on the festival鈥檚 website, tracking rain in Waynesburg started back in the late 1800s, when a local farmer told pharmacist William Allison it always seemed to rain on his birthday 鈥� July 29. That prompted Allison to start keeping an annual record of rainfall that day.
The record keeping continued, passed down from one person to another, and may have remained a quirky local tradition were it not for John O鈥橦ara, a Waynesburg newsman who started sending Rain Day stories to other newspapers in the 1930s. It piqued the interest of other news outlets, and today, newspapers, television and radio reporters from around the world check in to see if Waynesburg had a wonderfully wet day.
Included in each year鈥檚 celebration is a hat bet, made with a celebrity. This year, WQED-TV program host and Pittsburgh media personality Rick Sebak lost a hat to Waynesburg鈥檚 mayor after betting on a dry July 29.
Sebak, a self-proclaimed 鈥渉at aficionado,鈥� said he was considering wagering a straw hat he received as a student in France years ago.