Summit Hose Company's fall festival continues through Saturday at Riverview Memorial Park in Tarentum

Apollo brothers Noah and Elliott Gould surveyed the Riverview Memorial Park landscape in Tarentum from the highest point possible Thursday night.

With smiles on their faces, the boys sat down on large cloths and launched themselves down a bumpy, colorful slide to start their first experience at the three-day fall festival presented by Summit Hose Volunteer Fire Company.

“We like to travel to different carnivals and fairs and support local places,” said their mother, Kori Parks of East Vandergrift.

She said she read about the Tarentum festival in the Trib’s Valley News Dispatch edition and saw it on Facebook.

Elliott, 8, narrowly edged out Noah, 10, in their race to the bottom of the slide.

“It actually feels pretty good (to win),” Elliott said. “We do other competitions, like: who can say ‘no’ the fastest.”

They were among the many families who braved the dark clouds and threats of flash flooding in Allegheny County to celebrate the fire company fundraiser’s opening day.

The festival continues 6-10 p.m. Friday and 4-10 p.m. Saturday.

Carnival games and rides are provided by Mt. Pleasant-based C&L Shows.

Luca Cottone and his twin brother, Liam, 6, of Harrison played a fishing game. They took home a multicolored, stuffed dolphin.

Luca said playing games was his favorite part of the festival, while Liam liked the rides.

The festival is made possible by dozens of firefighters and other volunteers.

“We get excited for it,” Summit Fire Chief Josh Fox said. “We look forward to it every year. It’s something nice for the community. It’s a way for us to show the park off and newly renovated stage. It’s good for the public and ourselves. It’s a big fundraiser for us.

“We always hope and cross our fingers that we have good weather, but we can’t predict the weather. The dates are scheduled roughly a year in advance.”

Fox said the layout is the same as previous years. Event committee included Fox, fire department President Matt Hensel and Life Member Larry Altman.

Volunteers made pizza, hotdogs, burgers and other foods at the concession stand across from the stage. There were 50/50 raffles and instant bingo.

Dave Kengor, life member and fire department treasurer, said the festival generates $10,000 on average for the fire department.

“Back in the day, we used to run six days on the carnival,” he said. “Now it’s down to three. We used to go all week in West Tarentum, but times are different. It’s a little nicer atmosphere on this side of town.”

Scheduling conflicts and not enough volunteers through the years have resulted in some cutbacks.

Altman said everyone does their part to make the festival a success. He assists with the electrical work and vendor coordination.

“You do what you do; whatever it takes to keep it moving,” Altman said. “Summit Hose is a great group of guys, excellent firefighters. I’m proud to be a part of it.

”I think the food is very good, good bands. It’s an opportunity for (folks) to help their community and certainly help Summit Hose.”

Alle-Kiski Valley rockers American Pie provided live entertainment Thursday. They have been a part of the festival since 2012.

Other festival foods include funnel cake, deep-fried Oreos and cookie dough, ice cream and freshly squeezed lemonade.

More information about the festival is available at facebook.com/tarentumfallfestival.