Lehighton briefed on new ACS fundraiser

Lehighton will be the new venue for a music festival that has been a staple in Lansford for two decades.

Zoostock, which wrapped up its 20-year run in Lansford on Labor Day, will be held at the Lehighton Outdoor Center next year on Labor Day.

Jerry McAward, president of the outdoor center, and Joseph Krushinsky, who has been active with Zoostock for all 20 years, made their intentions known to Lehighton Borough Council this week.

McAward told council the event will be held at the outdoor center and will feature a free outdoor concert, along with the revival of a raft race, a former Zoostock fundraiser known as Rafting Against Cancer.

The plan is to hold the raft race — which will be renamed “LOCStock & Barrel” — Labor Day morning, with the concert to follow in the afternoon, McAward said.

Krushinsky, chairman of the American Cancer Society Telethon, said the event has raised nearly $350,000 for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society since its inception.

After the meeting, borough Manager Nicole Beckett said that since the event is being hosted on private land, no official approval is needed.

“The borough will discuss and coordinate with Jerry if any borough services are needed in addition to logistics in public areas,” Beckett said.

Zoostock had been held on the grounds of the Sports Zoo in Lansford since its founding.

In its first 19 years, the event raised $319,000 for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.

The amount raised from this year’s event won’t be released until the 40th annual American Cancer Society Telethon on April 6 and 7, 2019. It will air on Blue Ridge Communication TV-13.

The telethon will continue being aired each April. Besides being two full days of music entertainment, the telethon presents “Courage Awards” for people who bravely battle cancer.

After the meeting, Krushinsky explained why the decision to move Zoostock from Lansford to Lehighton came about.

“For the last two years, we have been puzzling over how to expand that event, involve new volunteers, increase the family element of it, at the same time we remember fondly our raft race that was a big part of the fundraising tradition for the American Cancer Society locally,” Krushinsky said. “We had the good fortune of striking up a really positive conversation with Jerry from the Lehighton Outdoor Center and it looks like a good partnership is about to create a brand-new event for the American Cancer Society.”

McAward agreed, and said the outdoor center’s large parking area will aid in hosting the event.

“We think it will be a wonderful springboard for the raft race being so close to the river and then the concert that will follow that will honor all the years of Zoostock,” McAward said. “We’re going to create a family event between what we have on the ground and what we have on the water that will really try to raise a lot of money for the American Cancer Society, so we’re really happy to be a part of it.”