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<p>Fire up the fryers, grate those taters, cream-fill the cannoli, core those cabbages and wrap up the &#8220;piggies.&#8221; It&#8217;s time for the barrage of bazaars, the cornucopia of carnivals, the extravaganza of ethnic events.</p><p>Yes, it&#8217;s festival season, full of specialty foods, games and one-of-a-kind displays as Luzerne County churches, fire companies and others host their annual fundraising fetes.</p><p>Today is opening day for one of the region&#8217; largest church festivals, at St. Nicholas in Wilkes-Barre, a grand mix of the parish&#8217;s old German heritage and newer role as home to the local Hispanic ministry, all blended into a distinct American amalgam.</p><p>Other big festivals this weekend include St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Swoyersville and Holy Name of Jesus in West Hazleton, but that&#8217;s just a smattering of what unfolds across the county throughout the season, each with a distinct and atmosphere &#8212; and, no, it&#8217;s not about the smell of cooking oil in the evening air.</p><p>Maybe you prefer the corny original plays &#8212; punny permutations of pierogies personified &#8212; often penned by the Rev. Gerald &#8220;Father Jerry&#8221; Gurka for the festival at St. John the Baptist in Larksville.</p><p>Or perhaps you find your party path lit by the massive candle houses paraded each year at Most Precious Blood in Hazleton, an homage to one of the region&#8217;s most quintessential immigrant sagas: The successful effort to raise money and bring a statue of Madonna Del Monte from Anzi, Italy, to Sybert Street, Hazleton, more than a century ago. The candle houses are impressive, the food delicious.</p><p>There is almost no end to the options offered each summer, and most people have a particular favorite, either by family legacy or the simple discovery of an ethnic treat made exactly right by just that one parish.</p><p>The potato pancakes at Holy Family in Sugar Notch are surely such a &#8220;here-only&#8221; perennial treasure, made from a mix of potatoes, onions, eggs and a closely-guarded secret mix of spices. Addictively tasty and uncannily grease-free, they are arguably a culinary miracle.</p><p>But if the Holy Family spud spectaculars are emblematic of everything good in Luzerne County&#8217;s feast of festivals, the event itself shows symptoms of just how fragile these cherished events can actually be.</p><p>Once a multi-day event, the festival has been pared down to a single Saturday. Why? A lack of volunteers willing to help prep potatoes &#8212; it took half a ton just to meet demand for one day.</p><p>Yes, it&#8217;s true, the region&#8217;s beloved history of local outdoor galas is at risk, a fact starkly evident with the imminent end to the Mountaintop Hose Co. No. 1 Fairview Township event, also this weekend. It has been dubbed the &#8220;44th annual, &#8216;one last time&#8217; bazaar&#8221; reportedly facing demise due to a lack of volunteers.</p><p>So do your part, get out there and buy food, play games and watch parades. But also consider volunteering at a festival near you, if not this year then next.</p><p>These annual affairs are a heritage well worth preserving.</p><p><ins>For other opinion stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/opinion" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hank Aftewicz, Hanover Twp., places the cut potatoes into the grinder in one of the final steps to make potato pancakes for the Holy Family Church bazaar in Sugar Notch. Tony Callaio | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_Holy-Family-Ch.-Potato-Pancakes-3-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hank Aftewicz, Hanover Twp., places the cut potatoes into the grinder in one of the final steps to make potato pancakes for the Holy Family Church bazaar in Sugar Notch. Tony Callaio | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Our view: Festival season is a great chance to enjoy, and participate