Krampusnacht Fest draws a crowd
Children who are naughty before Christmas, beware, Krampus is here.
The 2nd Annual Krampusnacht Festival was Sunday at Pocono Whitewater Rafting in Penn Forest Township. The festival was well-attended despite being rescheduled from Saturday because of the weather.
While the original tradition of Krampus was to scare naughty children, the children at the festival happily had their photos taken with several of the Krampus figures strolling around the grounds, and with St. Nicholas. Traditionally, St. Nicholas and Krampus appear together, working as a team. St. Nicholas rewards the good children, while Krampus punishes the naughty ones.
The Krampusnacht Festival draws people from all around. William and Toni Smith traveled more than 100 miles from Hamilton, New Jersey, just for the festival, joining the fun by dressing up for the costume contest.
“We came here specifically for Krampus,” Toni Smith said. “We were here last year, and we came back again this year. And we came more dressed up. We have a bunch of friends here today.”
The new location is one of several new features of this year’s celebration.
“We outgrew our location last year (Kemmerer Park),” said Alice Wanamaker, executive director of the Carbon Chamber & Economic Development Corp. “We reached out to Pocono Whitewater. It’s a wonderful place to host it. We have expanded our vendors and our food options. We have more music this year, more entertainment altogether.”
Entertainment included The Pennsylvania Villagers from 1 to 3 p.m., and Fire Arts by Dani Long Legs from 5 to 6. There was a Krampus story time, a Krampus costume contest, a merchandise store, and an art gallery.