As a Johnstown native, sometimes I take for granted the fact that because I go to Pitt-Johnstown, I still get to experience some of my favorite Johnstown events and activities during the school year. For some Johnstowners, Pitt-Johnstown students, and town visitors, the obvious things to do in town are visiting the incline plane and the flood museum; however, Johnstown has more than meets the eye. Here are some of my favorite things to do in my hometown that students should do while attending Pitt-Johnstown.
1. Ethnic Festival (Labor Day Weekend)
Right after the first week of classes, Johnstown’s heritage festival, The Ethnic Festival, takes place in Johnstown's Cambria City district. For over twenty years, the festival has offered its visitors tours of many of the area’s churches, food from many ethnicities including Hungarian Goulash, and free concerts performed by local and nonlocal musicians. For students, this is an excellent way to spend Labor Day weekend and explore the history of Johnstown heritage. In addition,Pitt-Johnstown’s Campus Services typically offers free rides down to the event.
2. The Ranger (Roughly April to September, Monday-Sunday: 1:00 pm - 9:00 pm)
Located roughly fifteen minutes from campus in Sidman, P.A. is The Ranger Ice Cream & Miniature Golf. Although Johnstown has its fair share of ice cream spots, the Ranger consistently cracks my top 5 ice cream places anywhere. Why? The Ranger is relatively cheap and offers an excellent quality and array of flavors and products from shakes to the traditional vanilla waffle cone with rainbow sprinkles. Looking at the minigolf course, not only are the eighteen different holes challenging in their own way, but the scenery while golfing is more than your average small town course. With a waterfall and rockwork, the Ranger sets students up for minigolf-worthy selfies.
3. The Johnstown Tomahawks (Early October through April/May)
For those Pittsburgh natives missing attending Pittsburgh Penguins’ games weekly, Johnstown has a fix for them, the Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). With tickets starting at $8, attending a Hawks game is a cheap date night not too far away from campus in downtown Johnstown at the Cambria County War Memorial. Besides the high-adrenaline game style and the too-die-for chicken/fries concession combination during the games, the War Memorial itself is a worthy visit. The arena is a place of much history from being named Kraft Hockeyville in 2015 and also the arena where hockey hit “Slap Shot” was filmed.
4. Christmas Tree in Central Park (Roughly November through December)
Although the Christmas Tree in Central Park of downtown Johnstown was a recent addition and hopeful tradition in the city through fundraising, it brings life to a relatively quiet downtown. With over 70,000 lights this past Christmas, the tree glistened next to the mini village of buildings scattered around the park. For those students who cannot get to Pittsburgh for PPG’s tree or to New York City for the Rockefeller Center Tree, the Christmas Tree at Central Park is an excellent alternative.
Johnstown might not be a big city, but it can feel like one if you capitalize on it and its surrounding areas while being here for four years.
