Business was boomin’ for Cannons and Cocktails on June 30 at Fort Ligonier.
That’s because the annual event includes a mortar firing demonstration.
Guests gathered outdoors as Assistant Director of Education Dan Swank gave a brief talk on the cannons, mortars and howitzers that would have been on hand during the fort’s heyday as a frontier outpost — what he termed “the weapons of mass destruction of the 18th century.”
Some of the projectiles had a range of a mile or more, he said. There was no danger this time, though, as the mortar was loaded with a Styrofoam ball.
“I love my job at Fort Ligonier and I don’t want to lose it by blowing up the fort,” he said.
It took two attempts for the mortar to fire. The first fuse fizzled, most likely due to the extremely humid weather conditions — which could have been problematic in an actual battle situation, Swank noted.
The occasion also marked the debut of a signature Kaboom cocktail, with Wigle Whiskey rum made exclusively for Fort Ligonier and Coke, served by Lauren Cassler of Carol & Dave’s Roadhouse in Ligonier, which also supplied appetizers.
The cocktail was a hit.
“It’s going like crazy,” said Julie Donovan, the fort’s director of marketing and public relations.
For added fun, there was a scavenger hunt for artillery-related objects and music by fiddler Andy Bronkaj.
Seen: event sponsor Jen Sausman with Mike Matrunics, Mark and Joyce Markosky, Todd and Julie Griffith, Kevin and Gabrielle Griffith, Jim McDonald and Mary Keith McDonald, Sheila Millar, Sheila Grimm, Pat McCann, Dr. Bill Choby, Robert and Joann Brick, Tom and Tracy Vagrin, Gary and Stephanie Brooks, John and Michele Hilderbrand, Mary Dettore, George Leshnock and the fort’s Executive Director Mary Manges.
