The pudding dive on Sunday will revive a SummerFest tradition. Registration will begin at 10 a.m. at the Skip Complex Practice Field.
ST. MARYS — The biggest change to SummerFest this year is its new location.
“We’ve moved from Memorial Park to the Skip Baughman Complex, where the old High School used to sit,” said Jason Drummond, chairman of SummerFest. “It’s a bigger area where we can expand. But the city also wanted us to move because of the new memorial they are putting in for the National Guard where the SummerFest entertainment would normally be.”
Due to the move, a new flagpole was donated by Karl Hagaman for the opening ceremonies. Thursday’s events focus on the theme of patriotism.
The All Brass Band, which is made up of former band players who are alumni of St. Marys High School, will be performing beginning at 6:15 p.m. followed by the playing of the National Anthem for the flag raising event.
Thursday’s events are centered around the opening ceremony, parades and bands, followed by the Chained Eagles’ procession of the Vietnam POW/MIA Wall from Wapak to St. Marys at 7 p.m.
“It’s a good group,” said Drummond, who is also a veteran, about the Chained Eagles. “There is always someone with the Wall, day and night. They protect the Wall, which is similar to the one in Washington D.C., and are responsible for transporting it on a bus and setting it up so it will be on display the whole weekend.”
Saturday’s events will focus on fun activities for children.
There will be kids games from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., a Punt Pass and Kick football activity for youth starting at 10 a.m., a diaper derby where babies wearing diapers are put on a blanket with “lanes” and crawl to a finish line starting at noon, a kiddie tractor pull at 1 p.m., and a youth corn hole tournament at 2 p.m. Many of these events have same-day registration, so individuals showing up to the festivities can spontaneously join in the fun.
Music is also a big draw Friday through Sunday bringing crowds to SummerFest.
Regional musicians are also scheduled to perform, including many festival favorites, like Shifferly Road (6 to 9 p.m. Friday), Nightfall (9 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday), Smokin’ Ham Band (6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday), Brother Believe Me (9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday), Dean Axe & Andy Klosterman Acoustic Duo featuring Steve Hurlburt, drummer (3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday) and Big Ginja (6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday).
In terms of the selection of the performers, “You want a band on Saturday night that’s going to be upbeat and bring in a lot of people,” said Angie Tangeman, executive director of St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce.
“You look for the bands that have a bigger following,” added Drummond. “Nightfall is is getting more popular. They’re one of my favorite bands. They play phenomenal music from the ’70s and ’80s like Journey and Styx.”
It is also important to move quickly to solidify a band for the festival.
“I think the bands were booked by the end of December,” Tangeman said.
“We also go to check out a lot of other festivals and listen to the bands to get ideas for our festival,” Drummond said.
Starting at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, adult attendees can enjoy a variety of sports tournaments, including pickleball, softball and soccer, a library book sale as well as arts and crafts. The day concludes with a 10 p.m. fireworks show by Todd Unrast of High Tech Special Effects, Inc.
Events wrap up Sunday, Aug. 14 with a worship service, softball and mud volleyball tournaments, cornhole, a lip-sync contest and duck races.
Last year’s attendance was approximately 8,000 people over the weekend and the organizers hope this year will be at least as successful.
View the complete schedule of events online at https://bit.ly/3PjT2n8.
Reach Shannon Bohle at 567-242-0399, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @Bohle_LimaNews.
