BUFFALO, N.Y. — From the rides to the sweets, the Lewiston Peach Festival is an end-of-summer, must-do activity.
"The field is packed. We have rides. We have food. Everyone's here having a great time," Lewiston Kiwanis Club President Marty Pauly said Saturday.
However, there was fear this harmless community event could've taken a very different turn this year.
Lewiston Police previously told 2 On Your Side at least 20 people received a flyer saying that the KKK would be at the Peach Festival on Saturday.
After investigating, police made a statement on Facebook saying the mailers, which were postmarked out of Rochester, likely came did not come from the KKK or any organization, nor would the group even be allowed to protest at the event.
Nonetheless, organizers worked with several law enforcement agencies to prepare for any kind of disruption.
"The police presence is beefed up. Niagara Falls Police sent a police tower this year. That's amazing. We have a handful of other high powered cameras around the field," Pauly said.
A group called Showing Up for Racial Justice, or SURJ, also responded to the hateful flyers. One of the members, Brigitte Holbert, said even if they didn't come from the KKK, "the effect of it is absolutely destructive."
SURJ members came to the festival with flyers, some reading, "We Must Love and Protect Each Other."
"We want to make sure that folks in Niagara County and Erie County don't feel like white supremacists are, one, something to ignore because we know from history that that doesn't work out very well, and two, that we don't have to sit by and be powerless," Holbert said.
Organizers said solicitation of any kind is not allowed so SURJ was eventually asked to leave and they did so peacefully.
Pauly said they'll have the same heavy police presence Sunday and the grounds are certainly protected.
Nonetheless, that initial threat was for Saturday and everything went smoothly, with no apparent visit from the KKK.