The 10th annual Curt Simmons Day at Egypt Memorial Park, Hillcrest Lane and Curt Simmons Drive, is a function that is growing larger every year, event director Shelly Dorn, of Egypt, said. With an infectious smile and bounds of energy, Dorn was in near-constant motion as she assisted her numerous volunteers and the attendees.

The festival, held June 3, featured two quality bands to entertain patrons under the park’s main pavilion: The Aardvarks and GirlCrue. Attendees danced to the up-tempo music.

There were games and rides for kids, face painting, a variety of foods to choose from, a basket raffle, craft vendors and a large car show with unique vehicles, some more than 100 years old. The car show attracted many onlookers and declared a number of winners for their car entries in different categories.

A Ford Model T, owned by Ed Zucal, of Allentown, captured the attention of many attendees.

Vintage car enthusiast and an owner of many vintage cars, Jerry Yost, of Coplay, garnered a first-prize award for a car from the 1950s - his 1956 Lincoln Continental that is in its original condition. The well-maintained black car has a unique air conditioning system that, by today’s standards, appears bizarre. Yost was delighted to receive the accolade.

Foods available at the festival included an alligator taco, Caribbean fare, pork barbecue and other more traditional picnic foods.

The event was a delightful mixture of music entertainment, diverse foods, vendors and activities.

The day honors a giant in the local baseball scene. Curt Simmons was a native of the village of Egypt in Whitehall Township. Simmons spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a member of the Whiz Kids team that won the National League pennant in 1950.

It is safe to say Simmons, when he was a teenager playing American Legion baseball for the Coplay American Legion team, may never had imagined a grateful Egypt community would one day hold an annual festival in his honor.

Simmons died at age 93 in December 2022.