Trail Council Will Be Rolling Saturday

30th annual ‘Yough ‘n Roll’ kicks off under Boston Bridge this weekend

By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
September 13, 2024
Posted in: Announcements

(Photo courtesy Mon-Yough Trail Council)

The Mon-Yough Trail Council plans a day of music, games, food trucks and prizes along the Great Allegheny Passage when the 30th annual “Yough ‘n Roll” festival gets underway on Saturday.

“We have a bicycle ride in the morning, and then a party on the trail from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,” said Ken Medved, event coordinator for the MYTC, which serves as a steward of 15 miles of the bicycle trail that connects Pittsburgh with Cumberland, Md.

The trail council has been one of the original, all-volunteer, nonprofit “rails-to-trails” organizations in Western Pennsylvania since 1991, he said.

The focus point for tomorrow’s events is the Boston access point to the trail in Elizabeth Twp., under the Boston Bridge off of Route 48. Although participants don’t have to ride their bicycle — or bring it to the event — many participants do, Medved said.

“We have people who register for the ride all over the region,” he said. “We’ve had visitors from all over the world — including 46 states and nine countries within the last year.”

The event is family-friendly and family-oriented. “There will be something of interest for everyone,” he said. “Come ride, walk, have lunch or just enjoy the great outdoors.”

“Yough ‘n Roll” has only missed one year out of the past 30 years. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since returning, the event has continued to thrive, Medved said. “Every year, it’s a little better and stronger,” he said. “Last year, we had well over 1,000 people, and this year we’re hoping for the same. We’ve been blessed with great weather and it appears we will be blessed again.”

In addition to serving as a celebration of the Great Allegheny Passage and the arrival of fall, “Yough ‘n Roll” also helps introduce the community to volunteer opportunities with the Mon-Yough Trail Council, which has more than 500 members, including 30 to 40 “really active volunteers,” Medved said.

Exhibitors this year will include the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Venture Outdoors, the Garden Club of McKeesport, Allegheny Land Trust, Rivers of Steel, Bike PGH, the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Twp. Historical Society, and the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center.

Vendors will include crafters selling recycled artwork as well as metal sculpture, along with live music, face-painting and balloons.

First-responders from Elizabeth Twp. public-safety agencies also will be present.

In addition, Medved said the trail council will be serving its “almost-famous hot dogs” beginning at 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., or when supplies run out.

The Mon Valley Academy for Arts will put on a short performance featuring its fife and drum corps, he said.

For more information, call 412-527-9966 or visit thebostontrail.com.

Originally published September 13, 2024.

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