Rosemary Broome has a bit of a beef with Ronald McDonald.
Grimace, the roly-poly purple McDonald’s character, will attend the grand reopening celebration of the Boggs Township restaurant on Friday. So will his partner in crime, the Hamburglar.
But the Golden Arches icon? His buns will be somewhere else.
“Ronald did have another pressing engagement,” said Broome, marketing manager for the local McDonald’s outlets. “He won’t be able to make it.”
Not to worry, though: Broome booked a lot otherwise.
To mark the end of months of expansion and renovation while customers came and went, she has a mini-festival cooked up for the restaurant next to the Interstate 80 Milesburg exit.
Starting at 6 a.m., early birds may be rewarded with a year of free Big Macs. The first 100 customers will receive a sandwich a week.
At 10 a.m., the American Red Cross is scheduled to arrive with its bloodhound mascot and then disaster preparedness demonstrations throughout the day. On behalf of the Red Cross, valley resident Kylie the camel is expected to make an appearance around 6 p.m.
Entertainment will include the Bald Eagle Area Jettes Indoor Majorettes at 9 a.m., the Capozzi Brothers’ Jugglers at 11:30 a.m. and the Bald Eagle Area High School marching band at 4 p.m. The BEA students will be holding fundraisers for their groups.
In addition, there will be finger painting, balloon art, face painting and crafts for children. Milesburg Fire Company firefighters will be on hand as well.
“You name it, I’ve got something for everyone,” Broome said.
But only a few lucky visitors will go home with prizes donated by local businesses.
Those include family bowling packages, movie passes, State College Spikes tickets, mini golf tickets and gift certificates for Penn’s Cave. The giveaways start at 9 a.m.
Someone even will win four tickets to another carnival next month, the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair.
“I’ve got a fabulous day planned,” Broome said.
Chris Rosenblum writes a weekly column about the Bald Eagle area. Contact him at 231-4620. Follow him on Twitter @CRosenblumNews
