Bands, crafts, car show, more set for Wally Lake Fest this weekend

The 2024 edition of Wally Lake Fest takes place Friday, Aug. 23, through Sunday, Aug. 25, celebrating life in the greater Hawley/Lake Wallenpaupack area with a host of events. The Chamber of the Northern Poconos hosts the festival, which started 24 years ago.

There are numerous events by land and by lake, such as concerts, crafts, boats, vintage cars and a motorcycle ride around the lake.

Live music continues as a major attraction for Wally Lake Fest. Possibly most well-known is Wallypalooza, with a variety of bands performing on a floating stage, visible for the crowd that gathers on Tafton Dike and part of the adjacent Wallenpaupack Lake Trail. A favorite tradition is the array of private boats on the lake which the owners anchor in an arc around the stage.

Wallypalooza takes place on Saturday. Here is the lineup:

• Rezenens, the headliner band, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and 2:45 to 4 p.m. According to the group's Facebook page, Rezenens is a central New York cover band featuring music from the 1980s.
• Seems Like Tuesday, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
• Cooper Greer, 1:45 to 2:30 p.m.

Here is just a sample of the many other Wally Lake Fest attractions:

• CFA East Stroudsburg Vortex Cheer; 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday; Palmyra Township Public Beach. Includes cheering, stunting and tumbling.
• 12th Annual Ride for the Lake on Saturday with a rain date of Sunday. Registered motorcycle riders depart from and return to Wallenpaupack Area High School, and circle Lake Wallenpaupack. Proceeds benefit preserving lake water quality, the mission of Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District .
• Open Market Artisan Fair; noon to 5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; Lake Wallenpaupack Visitors Center.
• Wallenpaupack Boat Rentals, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all three days.
• Boat & Outdoor Show; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; Wallenpaupack Area High School.
• Artisan Craft Fair; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Hawley Silk Mill.
• Vendor Fair; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; Wallenpaupack Area High School.
• Last Saturday Car Cruise and Auction; 3 p.m. to dusk Saturday; Church Street, Hawley.
• Friend of the Gypsy Band; noon to 3 p.m. Sunday; Palmyra Township Public Beach. Bring your blanket or chair.

For the full Wally Lake Fest schedule, see northernpoconos.org/wally-lake-fest-2/ .

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Bands, crafts, car show, more set for Wally Lake Fest this weekend