The 83rd Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival in Wellsboro continues this Friday and Saturday June 20 and 21 with the two-day Juried Arts and Crafts Fair and International Street of Foods and this Saturday, June 21 with the 10K Foot Race and Two-Mile Fun Run, Laurel Parade and Crowning of the 2025 Laurel Queen.  

The Juried Arts & Crafts Fair and International Street of Foods will be open on The Green with 109 vendors from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio
this Friday, June 20 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, June 21 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

While in Wellsboro, the 24 Laurel Queen candidates will enjoy a full weekend of activities. At noon this Friday, they will gather on the Tioga County Courthouse steps for the official welcome. The young ladies will then go to Leonard Harrison State Park to visit the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

At 4:30 p.m. Friday, Molly’s Boys Jug Band will open the free Queens Preview and Concert on the Deane Center’s outdoor stage at 104 Main Street. If it rains, the event will be indoors in the Deane Center.

The 2024 Laurel Queen Liliana Kilgore of Lititz and the 2025 Laurel Queen candidates will be introduced to the public at 5 p.m. and invited to perform with the band using drums, spoons and washboards. 

Molly’s Boys will captivate the audience by playing blues, folk, old-time, and original songs, with Jay Short of Williamsport on lead guitar, Gerry Cavaliere of Danville on guitar and Dave Driskell of Wellsboro on clarinet, sax, flute, banjo, musical saw, jug and washboard. 

The Laurel Festival 10K Foot Race will begin at 9 a.m. and Two-Mile Fun Run at 9:05 a.m. on Saturday, June 21. The 10K’s challenging 6.2-mile course has rolling hills, paved and dirt surfaces, and exciting Pennsylvania Grand Canyon country views. Registration for both will be from 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. at Packer Park on Queen Street on race day. The entry fee for the 10K is $25 and for the Fun Run is $5 and can be paid in cash or by check.   

Saturday afternoon, June 21, the Laurel Queen candidates will ride on floats in the 2 p.m. Laurel Festival Parade. Making their first appearance in the parade will be about 25 members of the Woodland String Band who will be wearing their elaborate pirate costumes from the Mummers Day Parade in Philadelphia held on Jan. 1 of this year. They will be playing banjos, saxophones, bass fiddles, accordions and drums as they perform upbeat music, such as Oh Happy Day.” Also featured will be 15 drum and bugle corps, bagpipers, marching bands, and other musical groups, floats, vintage cars and more.

Reserve chairs for the Laurel Festival Parade for $5 each on parade day, Saturday, June 21, beginning at 9 a.m. or call the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce office at 570-724-1926.

Saturday evening June 21, at 6:30 p.m., the coronation of the 2025 Pennsylvania State Laurel Queen will be on stage in the Auditorium at the Wellsboro Area School District Administration Building at 227 Nichols Street.  Coronation tickets are available at the chamber office at 114 Main Street or at the door. 

The festival concludes Sunday morning, June 22 with the 10:30 a.m. Union Church Service on The Green. 

For more information about Laurel Festival events, contact the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce by stopping in at 114 Main Street in Wellsboro, calling 570-724-1926, emailing info@wellsboropa.com or visiting wellsboropa.com.