A big party is being held Monday to celebrate the holiday, an event 146 years in the making.

"Memorial Day started here by three ladies," said Margaret Tennis, vendor coordinator.

Ever since, the celebration has gotten bigger and better. To accommodate the thousands of people that will attend, organizers start planning in January.

"Fortunately, people have been on the committee for a long time, and they know their jobs very well. So it's really a matter of fine-tuning the event. We've been ready for about a month now," said John Wainright, event chairman.

With most of the work already done, the only thing left to do, is mark vendor territory.

"Today [Saturday], we're finishing marking-off the booth spaces on the street, so each vendor gets assigned a numbered booth," said Wainright.

Margaret Tennis helped come up with the process in 1980.

"Somebody said, 'We'd like to have a few vendors.' So I said, 'I'll do it.' Here I am 30 years later," Tennis said.

A few vendors turned into almost 150, and the work is not done yet.

"It's quite an operation to get all the vendors in here and into their spots efficiently," said Wainright.

All that hard work is worth it.

"Just my way of thanking the community,” said Tennis. “I love Boalsburg, have been here since 1952, and just have enjoyed the town and the people."

Memorial Day events will kick-off at 9:00a.m.