Souderton Mayor Dan Yocum saw a Facebook post that caught his eye. Perkasie’s 3rd annual Porchfest would not go on as planned May 11. Since Perkasie is a local community, Mayor Dan reached out.
After talking to organizers Corey and Heather Armideo, he wanted to throw a Hail Mary.
After two hours and several calls, he was able to secure several potential venues within Souderton — Branch Creek Taphouse, Brass Collar Brewing Company, Love Obsessed and Jesse’s BBQ.
Those Souderton establishments and others are looking to book bands that may have been left out in the cold when negotiations to bring the live music event back to Perkasie this year broke down just weeks ahead of the date organizers had circled on their calendars.
Some bands may also be looking to hook up with venues in Sellersville or Quakertown. While the Perkasie Porchfest may not look like last year’s fest, the 2024 version will play on.
Perkasie officials on the afternoon of April 20 posted an announcement on the borough’s official Facebook page that suggested Porchfest organizers had withdrawn a necessary special event permit application.
The Perkasie Porchest Facebook page fired off its own statement 20 minutes later accusing the borough of attempting to have the organization scale the event back significantly from what took place last year with fewer vendors, businesses and hosts, plus a much-shorter 4-hour run time.
“We would not budge on so many things being removed,” the Facebook post said. “It was not sustainable for the future.”
The borough’s official post, attributed to mayor Jeff Hollenbach, said the town was making an effort “to address numerous documented public safety concerns from the previous year’s event.
Porchfest organizers put out an additional statement Saturday evening laying blame at the feet of borough officials for erecting “bureaucratic barriers” “in bad faith” in an effort to “wait out the clock.”
“It has been a privilege and a thrill to organize this event the past several years,” read the Armideos’ statement. “From the beginning, it was the appreciation and energy from the Perkasie community that kept us going. We are hopeful for a better relationship with Perkasie in the future and grateful for the support and interest from our neighboring municipalities.”
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