Bed races are part of the fun at the Summer Moon Festival in Wapakoneta.
WAPAKONETA —Wapakoneta’s Summer Moon Festival returned this week and will run strong through the weekend to celebrate the 54th anniversary of native son Neil Armstrong’s history-making first step on the moon.
Executive Director of the Wapakoneta Chamber of Commerce Jackie Martell said that among the attractions will be 23 food trucks, NASA astronaut Don Thomas, a scholarship pageant, musical acts and a family activity area featuring face painters, rock painters, balloon twisters, bouncy houses, obstacle courses and a giant rock wall.
“We’re a pretty unique festival when it comes to the fact that our small town celebrates such a big way,” she said. “The Armstrong Air and Space Museum being such a valuable and revered museum in the country really does give us such a great opportunity to truly give the festival space and moon-themed flair. There are so many activities throughout the museum that draw people in.”
Among the activities that will be available will be an astronaut gala, a hospital bed race, wiener dog races and a cornhole tournament.
Several hundred sponsors, businesses and community organizations helped put the festival, which has been around for more than 30 years, together and the hard work seems to have already been worth it.
“It’s something that really brings the entire community together with sponsors and volunteers,” Martell said. “We raised nearly $20,000 and gave back to the nonprofits who volunteer for many of the activities.”
And bringing the community together is paramount for the event.
“This festival is about bringing us all together, not only to have some fun in the summertime but to also connect us with what we know has been so inspiring to us all and that is Neil Armstrong and the mission to the moon,” Martell added. “It’s about acknowledging and recognizing just how much can be accomplished by working together. The spirit of that mission, even though it was 54 years ago, still inspires us today and we benefit from that all year long, but especially at this festival that just continues to grow every year.”
But there are a few things to remember for anyone planning to make their way to the festival this year.
“Plan to come hungry and spend lots of time because there is a lot of ground to cover from the museum to the downtown events,” Martell said. “We run everything concurrently so that no one misses any of those events.”
For more information on the festival and a full schedule of events and activities, visit its website.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
