The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, Autumn Glory Festival presenter, is proud to announce meteorologist Justin Berk as the Grand Marshal of Garrett County’s 52nd annual Autumn Glory Festival Grand Feature Parade, sponsored by Garrett Regional Medical Center, a proud affiliate of WVU Medicine. The parade will be held on Saturday, October 12, beginning at 1 pm in Oakland. The Grand Marshal is sponsored by the Greater Oakland Business Association (GOBA) and the town of Oakland, Maryland. Patriot Automotive Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram: King of the 4WD is the title sponsor of the 52nd annual Autumn Glory Festival.
An award-winning meteorologist, Justin forecasted weather on television stations on the east coast for 20 years including 14 years in Baltimore at WMAR and WBAL. After graduating with a meteorology degree from Cornell University, Justin’s television weather broadcasting career included stops in Syracuse and Binghamton, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before he settled with his family in Maryland. Justin’s passion for weather and his use of his trademarked Snowstix to measure snowfall has made him popular on social media with over a quarter of a million followers on Facebook, 20,000 followers on Instagram and 44,000 followers on Twitter.
After teaching at Stevenson University in Pikesville, Maryland for 10 years, Justin now focuses on forecasting online, consulting for businesses and schools, community outreach and fundraising efforts with the creation of his nonprofit organization Just in Power Kids, his Faith in the Flakes program, fundraising sales of his Snowstix and hosting around 80 school weather assemblies each year, where he has raised over $20,000 for Maryland schools.
One of his most popular fundraising endeavors, the Maryland Trek, an annual 329-mile hiking and biking journey across the state, kicks off in Garrett County this August. The 7-day long trek starts atop Wisp Resort in McHenry on August 4th and ends in Ocean City on August 10, 2019. Now in its sixth year, the event has raised over $180,000 for programs benefiting children with cancer and their families. The public is welcome to help Justin kick off his trek at 7:30 am on Sunday, August 4th at the top of Odin’s Chute at Wisp Resort.
The 52nd Annual Autumn Glory Festival, presented by the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, runs from October 9 – 13 in Garrett County, Maryland. The festival includes a kick-off reception at Wisp Resort, two large parades, concerts, Oktoberfest celebration, the Maryland State Banjo, Fiddle & Mandolin Championships, Fall Foliage Driving Tours, Turkey Trail, the Western Maryland Tournament of Bands, antique and craft shows and much more. For a full listing of Autumn Glory events, log onto visitdeepcreek.com/52nd-annual-autumn-glory-festival.
In 2018, Travel & Leisure listed Oakland, MD as the number 2 Best Town for Fall Colors in America and in 2017, TripAdvisor selected Oakland, MD as one of 20 Best Fall Vacations in America for Seeing Autumn Foliage. Also in 2017, Oakland, Maryland was selected by U.S. News and World Report as one of 50 Small Towns Across American with Gorgeous Fall Foliage, MSN.com listed Oakland as one of the prettiest leaf peeping towns in the U.S. and Readers Digest listed Garrett County as one of the 11 Road Trips That Showcase Stunning Fall Foliage You Need to Take This Autumn.
