LEWISTOWN — The lights, the rides, the smell of fair food drifting across Kishacoquillas Park — they’re all coming back next week as the Embassy Fair returns to the place where so many local summer memories were made.

But for the Friends of the Embassy Theatre, the weeklong carnival is more than a nostalgic tradition. It’s the organization’s largest fundraiser and a critical piece of the effort to restore one of Lewistown’s most iconic buildings.

The 29th Annual Embassy Fair runs Tuesday through Saturday, bringing a full midway of Bartlebaugh Amusements, food vendors, games and family-friendly attractions to Kish Park. Wristbands remain $20 each night, with Thursday serving as kids’ buddy night — two wristbands for $20. Individual tickets and bulk packs will also be available.

For historian Paul Fagley, president of the Friends of the Embassy Theatre, the Embassy Fair carries special meaning. Last year marked the first time since 2021 that the fair was brought back to its original home.

The setting is part of the draw. Kish Park once hosted its own amusement rides, a beloved feature that disappeared more than 50 years ago after Hurricane Agnes ravaged the region in 1972. When the Friends first brought the fair to the park, they tried to honor that history.

“When we first moved there, we tried to recreate some of the views, such as looking down Logan Boulevard and seeing the Ferris wheel,” Fagley said.

That sense of nostalgia still resonates with longtime residents, and Fagley hopes it helps bring families out again this year. Attendance in past years has been steady, he said, but the economy has played a noticeable role in how much people spend once they arrive.

“Decent attendance,” he said of last year’s fair. “But with the economy, people were much more selective with their spending, not spending like they normally would spend at a fair. It was a reflection of the economy at the time. If people are coming and spending this year remains to be seen.”

This year’s fair will not include entertainment acts, a change driven by cost and logistics. The focus instead is on the rides, the food and the community atmosphere — the core pieces that have always defined the event.

Fair hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Along the midway, visitors will find the Friends of the Embassy booth, where volunteers will be selling a new line of merchandise and sharing updates on the theater’s restoration.

Those updates are significant. In September 2024, the Embassy opened its doors for a public program for the first time in more than 40 years — a milestone in a long, incremental effort to bring the historic theater back to life. Only a portion of the building is currently usable, but the Friends are working to expand that footprint.

And this year, Fagley said, the public will finally begin to see visible progress. “Work on the building that will really show is coming later this year,” he said.

The organization received approval for a major grant late last year that will allow rehabilitation of a larger section of the theater. The application is in the paperwork phase, and the group is waiting for it to move forward with the project.

For the Friends, the fair is what makes that progress possible. The proceeds help fund ongoing repairs, preservation work and the long-term vision of returning the Embassy to full operation as a cultural anchor in downtown Lewistown.

“Relive the glory days of the park,” Fagley said. “There’s plenty of opportunity to support the Embassy and have loads of fun.”

For updates on the fair and the restoration effort, visit the Friends of the Embassy Theatre’s Facebook page.