HONESDALE, PA — On Tuesday, May 19, the Honesdale community came together and kicked off the summer season with Unity in the Community, a free festival hosted by Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers (WMCHC). Food trucks lined 9th Street, while educational booths lined the sidewalks in the park and music floated across the sun-scorched green. 

This is the second year WMCHC has held the event, said Erin Carpenter, outreach and enrollment coordinator with the organization. She said WMCHCH is looking forward to continuing it next year. 

“We have been blown away by the community response,” she said. She added that, last year, the event had around 450 people total; this year, that many had already arrived by 5 p.m., several hours before the time it was to end, and the coordinators had prepared with enough food to feed 800 people. 

Honesdale resident Aileen McDermott appreciated the event, wandering through the park with her dog, Bella. “It’s always fun to have activities,” she said. 

Roughly 30 vendors attended the event, according to Carpenter, with booths offering education and connection to community resources. Among them was a booth for members from the Wayne County Dairy Princess Court, a community institution that promotes the dairy industry in Wayne County. 

Ruth was in her third year of service with the court. When asked if she enjoyed her time there, she said, “I don’t just enjoy it; I love it.”

“We want to show how important dairy is,” she said, adding that it makes one stronger and healthier. 

WMCHC is a federally qualified health center with 20 sites serving nine communities across four counties in Northeast PA. Find out more about the services it offers at www.wmchc.net.