What municipal permits do I need?

Harris Township, the municipality in which Boalsburg is located, requires that all vendors obtain a Transient Retail Merchant permit.  The cost of a one day license is $15.00.  The application form can be found on the Harris Township website as follows:  harristownship.org -- Live/Visit -- On-line-Resources -- Permits -- Solicitor/Transient Retail Merchant Permit.  Additional information about this permit can be obtained by telephoning Todd Shea, Harris Township Zoning officer, at 814-466-6228.

What kind of products can I sell?

Products must be created and produced by the vendor.  Exceptions to vendor production are products that absolutely require the help of third parties, i.e. t-shirts, but the design must be of the vendor's own creation.  

What should I know about vendor stalls?​

Stalls are 15 feet long and extend 10 feet from the curb and vendors are required to use a canopy/tent.  Availibility is first come, first serve.  If you would like a particular stall location (returning vendors) please note that in the vendor application "notes" section.

Vendors are responsible for all items they bring with them and to clean up area when leaving.

Logistics?  When, where, how?

Boalsburg's Memorial Day in Towne will be May 31, 2027.

Start:  9:00 a.m.

End:  4:00 p.m.

Vendor set-up:  6:00 a.m Start

Vendors will receive vendor passes for easier loading and unloading.

There is  no rain date - event will go on, rain or shine.
 
 Who do I contact with questions?​

Please contact John Wainright at 814-441-2114 or mgbjohn8@gmail.com

Map of Vendor Area

Parking

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There is paid parking at the Pennsylvania Military Museum - 51 Boal Avenue and the Boal Mansion.  Street parking in the village is reserved for vendors and volunteers.

History of Memorial Day in Boalsburg:

Located just off Route 322 in Centre County, Pennsylvania, is a tiny old-fashioned American village called Boalsburg. Perhaps to some people this little town is just another dot on the map, but the locals know a truer meaning behind Boalsburg. “Boalsburg. An American Village – Birthplace of Memorial Day.” 

It all began with a lovely young teen-age girl named Emma Hunter and her friend Sophie Keller on a pleasant Sunday in October, 1864. The girls gathered some garden flowers to place them on the grave of her father, Dr. Reuben Hunter, a surgeon in the Union Army. That very same day an older woman, Mrs. Elizabeth Meyer, chose to scatter flowers on the grave of her son Amos, who was a private in the Battle at Gettysburg. The two spoke of their loved ones and respectfully placed flowers on both graves. These women did not realize what they had in common, but as it happened they were participating in their first Memorial Day service. 

On that very Sunday in October, 1864 these women made a pact to meet again on the same day the following year to honor their loved ones as well as others who may have no one left to kneel at their graves. In the next months these women shared their plan with friends and neighbors. The result was a meeting on July 4, 1865, which had turned into a community service. All of Boalsburg gathered, along with a clergyman – Dr. George Hall – who preached a sermon. Not one grave went left undecorated. 

This day of remembering easily became a tradition held annually in Boalsburg, and slowly the neighboring communities began observing “Decoration Day” each spring. On May 5, 1868, only four years after that first meeting in the burial ground, General John A. Logan, then commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued an order. He named May 30, 1868 as a day “for the purpose of comrades who died in defense of their country” the order was signed and was kept from year to year.

(Source:  Boalsburg Heritage Museum)