Leechburg's Pink Day blossomed from flower sold in support of breast cancer research

More than 100 vendors, selling everything from honey to homemade dog treats, are expected to attend Leechburg’s 12th annual Pink Day on Saturday.

It’s the most they’ve ever had for the event, which has raised about $217,000 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation since the first one in 2011, according to Sherry Price of Leechburg, who coordinates the event that was started by Gary and Vicki Peterman of Gilpin.

Last year, Pink Day raised $41,300, Price said.

“That was the best we’ve done thus far,” she said. “My goal for the coming year is always just to do a little better than we did the year before. I don’t set high expectations. I’m happy if we can do a little bit better than we did the year before.”

Scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Market Street, Pink Day also will have live music, crafters, food and attractions for kids.

In addition to a silent auction, 50-50 raffle and Pink Day shirts for sale, there will be a raffle for what Price described as an “enormous” Barbie basket.

The IPG Fitness 5K walk and run is held early in the day. Registration is from 8 to 9 a.m., with runners starting at 9 and walkers at 9:30.

At 4 p.m., a “foam party” will have foam cannons shooting bubbles all over Market Street.

“We cram a lot of stuff into a very small area,” Price said.

Based in New York City, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation has raised more than $1 billion since its founding in 1993. The foundation says it will award $63.15 million in grants in 2023-24 to more than 250 scientists from universities and medical institutions around the world as part of its mission to prevent and cure breast cancer by advancing research worldwide.

Leechburg’s Pink Day to support the foundation has its roots in a flower, the “Invincibelle Spirit hydrangea,” and the Invincibelle Spirit Campaign for a Cure, created in 2010.

Through donating $1 from each plant sold and through Pink Day marketing events, Spring Meadow Nursery in Grand Haven, Mich., says its campaign has raised more than $1 million for the foundation.

Gary Peterman said he and his wife sold the flower at their Leechburg gift shop, The Gifted Garden, which they closed during the pandemic in 2020.

“What happened was we tried it one year, and it just blew up to what we have now, which is a full-blown festival,” he said. “It really developed into something big. There’s people that come from all over the country. We started this as a small little deal, and it’s just grown.”

Gary Peterman said they didn’t have any personal connection to breast cancer at the start, but they have as the years have passed. That includes Price, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2021 and is now cancer-free.

“My wife and I started this, but Sherry is the one that brought this to the point where it is today,” he said. “She works her tail off. She’s the one who gets all the vendors and the acts together.”

Price said she is still under a doctor’s care and taking medication. She encourages people to come out and support Pink Day.

“It’s an important thing to support. Everybody knows somebody who’s touched by breast cancer,” she said. “This is a way for everybody to contribute, plus it’s just a lot of fun. The atmosphere there is warm and inviting. We have a lot of survivors or women who are fighting come to the event. They feel embraced. It’s a very hopeful event.”