'I don't want it to end,' says Pink Day organizer as she retires from planning popular Leechburg festival

Sherry Price was feeling relief tinged with a little sadness as Leechburg’s 14th annual Pink Day was underway around her Saturday.

As people from near and far flocked to the borough’s Market Street for a day of fun for a good cause, Price knew it was the last one she’d be in charge of organizing.

And that’s OK.

“It’s been 14 years,” she said. “It’s time for me to call it a day.”

Price had worked for Gary and Vicki Peterman at their gift shop, The Gifted Garden. The Petermans started Pink Day in 2011 as a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Since then, it grew from just an event at their shop, now closed, to one that fills the borough’s business district.

“We never dreamed it was going to be like this,” Gary Peterman said.

“It was a process getting it to this point,” Price said. “It’s something I’m very proud of. It’s something everybody who lives in or visits Leechburg is very proud of.”

Beyond drawing people from the immediate area, Price said it attracts people from all over the country, including Leechburg natives who plan visits home with family around it.

“It’s got some reach, which is pretty exciting,” she said.

While the 5K kickoff walk was not part of Pink Day this year, the Kiski Watershed Association oversaw an “Anything that Floats” regatta on the Kiski River.

It was originally going to be held as part of the borough’s observance of its 175th anniversary in June, but was called off because the river was too high. That wasn’t a problem on Saturday, a sunny and warm day that also saw a continuation of a long streak of dry weather in the region.

The weather has actually been historically solid for Pink Day, held on the third Saturday of September. It’s always been warm, and it was rained out only one time, in the second year, Price said.

“We’ve really been blessed,” she said.

To float down the river, Gilpin resident Carla Minnich, who owns a bed-and-breakfast in Leechburg, wore a sequined top to match her glittery dragon tube. While she kayaks a lot, she was a little nervous about heading down river and not being able to see around the dragon’s head — although she was seen later having spun it around so it wasn’t a problem anymore.

“If I fall off, I fall off,” she said before heading out.

“I might just float and see where the water takes me,” she said. “I’m glad it’s a beautiful day. Leechburg has a lot to offer when it comes to the river and the bike trail.”

In the middle of Market Street, Melanie Nulph, owner of Melons World Salon, was harvesting locks of hair for Children with Hair Loss, which provides wigs to children who have lost their hair because of cancer treatment. The first donor was Dan Galie, of Arnold, who had grown his hair for the past 12 years knowing he would eventually donate it to such a cause, as he has done four or five times before.

He had six locks of hair that people paid $10 each for the opportunity to cut off. And he was glad to be rid of it.

“It’s a lot cooler,” he said after.

Iron Element Tattoo was donating all of the proceeds from $80 tattoos to Pink Day, owner Melissa Hubert said.

Her husband, Craig Hubert, tattooed a cancer ribbon on the arm of Rodney Koehler III, a Leechburg native who now lives in Lower Burrell. His father, Rodney Koehler Jr., was 57 when he died from pancreatic cancer in November 2012.

“It’s great,” he said of Pink Day. “It gets bigger every year. It’s all for a good cause.

“This event brings in tons of people from everywhere.”

Leechburg Mayor Doreen Smeal and Dina Blake, president of the Leechburg Area Community Association, are expected to take over Pink Day, with Price saying she’ll be around to help as-needed.

“I don’t want it to end,” Price said.