The Tamaqua Historical Society is busy preparing for its 34th annual Tamaqua Heritage Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday in downtown Tamaqua. The festival is a celebration of local and regional history and culture as well as fall foliage and harvest time.

The theme is the 250th anniversary of the first successful use of anthracite coal. The event will be held rain or shine. Registrations are still being accepted for craft and vendor spaces, President Dale Freudenberger said. For space downtown, email dalefreud@gmail.com or call 610-597-6722. Email is preferred.

The Tamaqua Heritage Festival includes crafts and street vendors selling handmade crafts, seasonal and holiday creations, works of art, street wares and much more.

Many local organizations, school groups, churches, scouts and fire companies participate with information booths or selling fundraising items.

Coaldale native and author Daniel Urban will be autographing and selling copies of his new book “Grow Up Already!” along the festival route.

The day includes homemade, ethnic and other popular festival foods scattered all along West Broad Street.

The Tamaqua Area Historical Museum at 118 W. Broad St. will be open for tours, and features many great displays of local wildlife, Native Americans, the town’s founding, discovery and mining of coal, railroads, immigration and ethnic heritage, fraternal organizations.

Learn about death and burial customs, the Molly Maguires, police, farming, dairies, religion, theaters, breweries and hotels, explosives, early industry and manufacturing, textiles, military, schools, sports, scouting, Indian celebrations, banking, telephones, businesses and more.

The Museum Annex and Gallery located next door at 114 W. Broad St. features a special exhibit in the front room titled the “Art of the Anthracite” featuring nearly 40 oil paintings by Tamaqua artist Harry K. Snyder.

Snyder’s art features 24 paintings of coal breakers from Schuylkill, Carbon and Luzerne counties, a number of paintings of Tamaqua landmarks and several other paintings that show Snyder’s love of many subjects around the globe.

The rear gallery features the works of noted Tamaqua artist John G. Scott. A new painting has been added to the Scott collection just this week. Admission to the museum, annex and gallery is free.

Along the sidewalk leading to the train station will be more vendors and local organizations, including a special display and costumed re-enactor honoring the 100th anniversary of World War I this year.

The 1848 Hegarty Blacksmith Shop, at the corner of Hegarty Avenue and Nescopeck streets, will be open with blacksmith Don Campbell demonstrating his skills at the forge and anvil in the 170-year-old shop and explaining its history as the oldest continuously run business in Schuylkill County when it closed in 1974.

The 1801 Moser Log Home on East Broad Street is closed presently for safety access reasons, and will hopefully reopen sometime next year.

The Tamaqua Heritage Players group, part of the Tamaqua Historical Society, will be strolling throughout the festival area dressed in period clothing.

Unfortunately, there will be no car show this year on South Railroad Street due to the recent disbanding of the Tamaqua Street Machine Association earlier this year.

The Tamaqua Victorian Hi-Wheeler bicyclists will be riding their vintage hi-wheel bicycles in period costumes and showing off their skills during the day. This was once a popular pastime in Tamaqua during the 1880s when they had a local bicycling organization known as the “Tamaqua Wheelmen.”

Guided tours of Padora’s 100-plus-year-old anthracite coal-fired Italian bread bakery will meet in the Tamaqua Railroad Station lobby at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. for half-hour guided walk and tour of the bakery located just up the street. The tour is free, however donations will be appreciated.

A variety of music around the festival area including:

• WMGH Polka Program live broadcast with Polka Joe Manjack from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the museum.

• DJ Shawn from 1 to 5 p.m. in front of the museum annex.

• Folk musician and clogger Jay Smar will perform in front of the Hegarty Blacksmith Shop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Folk musician Dave Matsinko will stroll and perform from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. throughout the festival area.

Leiby’s Autumn harvest farm market will feature a vast array of seasonal homegrown fruits, vegetables and decorations like pumpkins, gourds, mums, corn stalks and bales of straw. Leiby’s Carriage Service will be offering horse-drawn trolley rides around the festival featuring their Belgian draft horses starting on Berwick Street. Stop by Tink’s Antiques on South Railroad Street between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to check out their latest acquisitions.

For the younger folks, there will be face painting, amusements and games to keep them occupied along the festival route. Kids and adults alike can see the open house at the Tamaqua Anthracite Model Railroad Club at the corner of West Broad Street at Nescopeck from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. See their large operating layout on the second floor of the Masonic Building as they model the railroads from the greater Tamaqua area and beyond.

Other children’s games, bounce house and amusements will be located on South Railroad Street. There are no train rides offered this year during the Heritage Festival.

For further information or to register as a vendor, contact the Tamaqua Historical Society at 610-597-6722 or email dalefreud@gmail.com. For more information, visit them on Facebook or go to www.tamaquahistoricalsociety.org.