Events, activities listed for OFFD festival

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

During the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Van Wert enjoys not one, but two festivals. In addition to Holiday at Home, the city will also celebrate Old Fashioned Farmers Days, which begins tomorrow, June 30, and runs through Sunday, July 3, at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds.

Opening ceremonies to begin the festival start at 9 a.m. Thursday, with a number of weekend activities, including a trading post, a Quilt & Needle Arts Show, Animal Land, and a car show and music from the Fifties on the schedule for Thursday.

The evening ends with the Mule Skinner Band at 7 p.m. at the Crestview Band Stand.

The trading post, Quilt & Needle Arts Show continue on Friday, as well as animal land, while Ohio State University Extension Agent Curtis Young will have a presentation on “Invasive Insects of Ohio” starting at 1 Friday afternoon. A Tug-A-Truck event will also begin at 1 p.m., following by a Kids’ Old Fashioned Cow Milking event at 4 p.m., tractor games at 5 that afternoon, with a Kids’ Pedal Tractor Pull starting at 6 p.m. Friday.

The evening will end with Blind Date, a band that performs Fifties and Sixties music, at the Crestview Band Stand from 7-9 p.m.

Saturday begins with a weigh-in for the antique tractor pull at 8 a.m., with Chuck Schepfilin saw sculpting starting at 9 that morning. The Trading Post will open at 9 a.m. and run until 5 p.m., while Animal Land will be open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. The Quilt & Needle Arts Show will also run from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., while the Antique Tractor Pull Divisions I and II will being at 9 a.m.

At 10 Saturday morning, a kids’ pedal tractor pull will continue, with an adult pedal tractor pull slated for 10 a.m. as well.

An Indian Relic Show will run from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., with a Barney Fife lookalike strolling the Van Wert County Fairgrounds all day Saturday.

Kids games will begin at 11 Saturday morning, while the Lenn Collier Band will perform from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at the Crestview Band Stand. Bean soup and cornbread will be served at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, while Grace C Giggles, the Clown with a Big Heart, will perform on the fairgrounds from 1-3 p.m.

At 2 p.m., the popular Fiddler, Banjo & Harmonica Contest will take place in the Junior Fair Building, followed by Blair Carmen from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Junior Fair Building.

Sunday is a much quieter day at the festival, with church services scheduled at 10 a.m. Sunday in the Junior Fair Building, with a Sunday dinner planned for 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on the fairgrounds.

All in all, it’s an enjoyable weekend at the fairgrounds for those who enjoy old-fashioned activities and events.