James Novak, 6, of South Abington Township, gets his face painted by Samantha Duffy.
Ben Freda | For Times Leader
Local duo Caitland & Pete perform during the Benefit 4 Gin’s Tavern. Pete Conserette, from Blakely, plays guitar, and Caitland Hawk Grasso, from Avoca, sings.
Ben Freda | For Times Leader
People line up for raffle tickets and prizes.
Ben Freda | For Times Leader
Community members sell raffle tickets for prizes. From left, are Jonathan Nemeth, Ron Hackman, and Jonathan’s mother, Linda Bonczkiewicz.
Ben Freda | For Times Leader
Paul Whelski, of Harrisburg, plays the ladder toss game with her 2-year-old daughter, Charleigh.
Ben Freda | For Times Leader
FLEETVILLE — On what was predicted to be a rainy Saturday afternoon on June 24, the sun actually came out during the Benefit 4 Gin’s Tavern.
The outcome was a large turnout on the grounds of the Fleetville Fire Company in support of the locally famous establishment, which was burned from a fire. The community enjoyed an afternoon of food, raffles and live music in an event that was put together by Gin’s customers. Fleetville Fire Company provided the location for it.
“The board of trustees overwhelmingly agreed to donate the space as a thank you for the support that Gin’s has provided Fleetville Fire Company over the years,” said a representative of the fire company.
Nicholson resident Karen Brown, who has been a customer of Gin’s since her childhood, volunteered in more than one station. She cooked fries in one station and sold raffle tickets for prizes in another. She recalls her father taking her to Gin’s when she was a kid. She said that she later met her husband there.
“Our first date was at Gin’s,” she said.
Many local bands performed on three different stages throughout the whole event. Local duo Caitland & Pete performed country, folk and pop music on the stage outside the firehouse. One of Caitland Hawk Grasso’s friends used to work in Gin’s kitchen. She saw this event on Facebook and saw it as a good opportunity to help the community and perform music.
“I love supporting the community,” she said. “I love playing music out.”
Nikki Weisenfluh, who was in charge of the sweets during the benefit, and a great number of other volunteers baked 1,000 cookies at the fire hall. She has ties with Gin’s since her mother graduated from high school with Mark Vanko Jr., whose father owned Gin’s at the time. She remembers when Gin’s would cater to all her events from beginnings to endings.
“We’re giving back to Gin’s for all they did,” said Nikki.
Other treats were made and brought by the community and restaurants. Glenburn Grill donated cupcakes and lemon tarts. Giddy Up & Go donated ice cream and coffee. Down Home Pudding donated … you guessed it, pudding.
A family friend of the Vanko family made cookies designed like the old sign Gin’s had hanging outside the building. Joe Thomas and Cindy Edwards made an actual replica of the oval-shaped sign that normally hanged outside the building. They also created another sign, which will hang at Gin’s new building. They commissioned a stained-glass window to make it designed like the famous sign.
The owners plan to rebuild Gin’s Tavern and hope to reopen for business by May 2024. They hired Raymond & Sons to perform the construction. They didn’t have any part of organizing the benefit, but are thankful for the community members who put this together.
“This wasn’t expected so we’re grateful for everything,” said Sandy Kostick, co-owner of Gin’s.
“We’re grateful for every single one of our community members,” said Ashley Shylkofski, former manager of Gin’s. “It took so much time and effort on everyone’s behalf.”
