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McSummerfest Fundraiser Bounces Back After Monday's Storm

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MCDONALD (KDKA) -- The scorching heat and high humidity Tuesday did not appear to make people shy away from the annual McSummerfest in Washington County.

The annual fundraiser is put on by the McDonald Volunteer Fire Department. Every year, it attracts large crowds and this event seems to gets bigger.

"As a street fair, you would throw little dimes in the glasses, then they had like blow-up things the kids had things could play in," Mike Vernillo, who lives in nearby Fort Cherry, said. "The event has evolved. Now the stage is here and all the rides."

mcsummerfest mess
(Photo: Provided)

Twenty-four hours earlier, the area was a mess. Without much warning Monday night, a severe thunderstorm slammed the McDonald area, with rain, hail and strong winds sending McSummerfest attendees scrambling for cover.

"Last night, I was sitting here with my twin sister and our husbands," Sherri Fehl said. "We saw the storm clouds come rolling in. Our husbands said it's going to pass us over. No, it's not."

"Oh my God, the clouds were rolling in [last night], it was bad. It was really bad," Sherri's twin sister, Terri Seigler, said.

mcsummerfest
(Photo Credit: KDKA)

The storm Monday night did a job on the stage, and according to several eyewitnesses, it actually blew some workers off the stage.

"They were standing there holding a tarp to try to keep the equipment dry and on this side, they got pushed off and that powerbox went too. Luckily, they weren't hurt or anything," Connor Ehrgood said.

Firefighters and volunteers spent Tuesday cleaning up the mess left by the storm and on Tuesday, it was as if the storm was ancient history. The evening was capped off with fireworks.

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