Even though this year's 16th annual Whiskey Rebellion Heritage Festival almost didn't happen, the small-town fall foliage festival will again bring 1794 history to life on Saturday and Sunday in Berlin, southern Somerset County.

"We went through some challenging times earlier this year," said Carolyn Sarver, president of the festival committee. "We are a small festival and our funds were dwindling and our volunteers were getting burned out."

Instead of canceling the festival, new community members got involved with fresh, new ideas for fundraisers, such as a flea market in May and a clothing sale in July. Now, the members are planning a Halloween dance on Oct. 23 in Berlin as the first fundraiser after the festival.

"It's everyone bringing their ideas and talents to the table with a new perspective," Sarver said. "And, it's working. We already have plans for next year's festival."

The history of the festival goes back to 1994, when townspeople got together to celebrate the Bicentennial of the Whiskey Rebellion, and it served as precursor for the Somerset County Bicentennial in 1995.

The Whiskey Rebellion occurred in 1794, when local frontiersmen spoke out against a whiskey tax imposed by the newly formed government of the United States. Every year, several townspeople dress as frontiersmen and raise their rifles in tribute to the original pioneers who took a stand against taxation without representation.

"This is America's second revolution and was fought over many of the same principles that the Revolution was fought over, such as a lack of representation, exploitation of rural, Western society and the question of the fundamental right to tax at all," explained Doug Bell, a local historian who serves as a local district justice. "Probably the most important thing was that it showed that the federal government held together and would take action. It was the first display of that power."

The Berlin Area Historical Society Heritage Haus, will be open during festival hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Period re-enactors will be on hand to portray the activities of Colonial times and a skirmish of the Story of the Whiskey Rebellion will be retold by local re-enactors throughout the day.

An antique car show sponsored by the Sugar Bush Classic Car Club will be in town during the weekend. An annual highlight of the festival is the grand feature parade down Main Street at 2 p.m. on Saturday. There is an after-dark ghost tour of the town planned for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)