MINERSVILLE - Wearing a stylish cowboy hat emblazoned with a studded peace sign, singer Leilani Chesonis, Mahanoy City, encouraged the crowd to dance in the streets.
At the borough's 17th annual Spirit Day celebration Sunday - a street fair with live music on at least three stages, a carnival atmosphere with kettle corn and bleenies and good weather, and hundreds of people in attendance - a few couples quickly stepped up.
One was Bill McCord, Pottsville, and Agnes Marmas, Schuykill Haven. Another was Mary Ann Hoffman, Ashland, and John Miller, Fountain Springs. They danced to Chesonis' cover of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love."
"Every year we come down here," Miller said.
"It's fun and we know a lot of the people," Marmas added.
"The weather's beautiful. You couldn't ask for a better day," Mary Ann Romansky, Minersville, said.
The skies were blue with giant white clouds. Temperatures were in the low 70s, according to Barry Lambert, a meteorogist with the National Weather Service, State College.
"The event is three blocks long. It runs on North Street from Veterans Street to Second Street and there were people in every block. I would say we had 5,000 to 6,000 through the day, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.," Anna Kubilis, chairwoman of the Minersville Business and Professional Association's Spirit Day Committee, said.
There were "about 95" vendors. "It was a little less than last year, when we had 115 to 120," Kubilis said.
A group looked to raise funds for the Minersville Area High School girls' soccer team.
The line for bleenies at a stand run by St. Matthew the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church never quit, Kubilis said, adding. "The bleenies were in such demand."
This year's theme was "Celebrating Minersville Musical Talent," and there were numerous live performances. Entertainers included The Shoreliners polka band, Sapphire Unplugged and the Cressona Band.
The musical entertainment at Minersville Spirit Day had been expanded this year to include soloists like Chesonis, who performed at North and Third streets.
On the main stage in front of the high rise, local talent honored included The Joe Misti Orchestra, The Other Side and Bobby Owsinski, Minersville.
Al Barnes, a local businesman and Spirt Day supporter, also was honored. "He was 40 years in business in Minersville. He just sold his business in July. He retired. He was a great supporter, helping me when I first started Spirit Day," Kubilis said.
The Minersville Little League Girls' All-Star Team was also honored for finishing second in the state softball tournament.