EDCO Fest Expands Rapidly in Evans City

Ronny Royhab’s EDCO Fest wrapped up its third edition on Sunday, May 17, after spreading across EDCO Park and nearby properties in Evans City. The two-day fundraiser began as Royhab’s senior project at Seneca Valley Senior High School and has grown into what he described as a borough tradition. Butler Eagle reported that the 2026 event added a beer garden, carnival games and an inflatables area, while Royhab said organizers used the full park and surrounding space this year. Evans City Borough’s event listing described the weekend as a family-friendly festival with live music, food, beer, games and more than 60 vendors. ### How much bigger was this year’s festival? Royhab told the Butler Eagle that EDCO Fest hosted 100 vendors in 2026, compared with 60 in its first year. He said the event had moved from using one section of the park to occupying the whole property and nearby areas. “We’re bursting at the seams with entertainment and things for people to do,” Royhab said. (butlereagle.com) The May 16-17 borough listing also showed the festival’s broader footprint in programming terms, advertising games, vendors, live music, food and beer over two days at EDCO Park, 154 W. Main St. in Evans City. The official event page said the festival’s “fun zone” included games run by lifeguards and promoted “DUNK A LIFEGUARD” as a new attraction. (butlereagle.com) ### Where did EDCO Fest come from? The first EDCO Fest was held in May 2024 as Royhab’s graduation project at Seneca Valley Senior High School, according to Butler Eagle. Royhab, then 17, said he created the event after the EDCO Park pool closed the previous year and he wanted to raise money for the park, where he had worked as a lifeguard for four years. (evanscity.us) Royhab said in 2024 that he raised about $14,000 to fund the first event, largely through sponsorships. Butler Eagle reported that the inaugural festival featured live bands, carnival games, a bouncy castle and raffles, with roughly 50 to 60 volunteers helping over the weekend. ### What was new at the 2026 event? (butlereagle.com) The 2026 edition added a beer garden, a carnival games area and an inflatables area, Royhab told Butler Eagle. Those additions built on the family activities described in the borough event page, which also promoted food service from EDCO Eats and all-weekend live music. (butlereagle.com) Royhab also said demand from vendors and visitors was strong enough that some food vendors sold out on Saturday, May 16. He told the Butler Eagle that vendors were happy with the turnout as the second day continued in warm weather. ### Who says the festival matters to Evans City? Mayor Dean Zinkhann said during the first EDCO Fest in 2024 that the event would help the park financially and bring more attention to EDCO Park and its pool. (butlereagle.com) Borough supervisor Brad Rubinosky also said volunteers would do what they could to support the fundraiser because Royhab was trying to help the pool raise money. The 2026 article did not provide a new revenue total, but it described the event as a fundraiser for EDCO Park and as an Evans City tradition in the making. That framing came from Royhab and the Butler Eagle’s reporting on the festival’s third year. ### What comes next for EDCO Park and the festival? (butlereagle.com) Evans City Borough’s calendar says EDCO Fest is held at EDCO Park in mid-May, and EDCO Park’s website continues to post event information and program updates. Royhab, who graduated from Seneca Valley in 2024 and now attends Butler County Community College with plans to attend Slippery Rock University, was still helping run the festival this year, according to Butler Eagle. (butlereagle.com) Future festival details are being posted through EDCO Park’s website and the borough events page.