Lambert Days to offer full slate of activities

VW independent staff/submitted information

OHIO CITY — The 2023 edition of Lambert Days will be held, as always, on the third full weekend’ in July, July 21-23 at the Ohio City Fireman’s Park and Community Building on Ohio 118 on the north side of the village.

The annual celebration honors American automotive pioneer John Lambert, whose Lambert gasoline buggy was the first practical gasoline-powered automobile available for sale in America. He initially designed and built his vehicle in 1890 and successfully tested it in January of 1891 inside an 80-foot-long farm implement showroom he owned in Ohio City.

The weekend will unofficially start on Thursday, July 20, with a community garage sale. The sales, which will be held throughout the village, Liberty Township and vendors at the park, will continue all weekend.. A map of the sales will be available at each sale and at the Ohio City Express. Anyone interested in participating in the community garage sale and wants to be added to our map should contact Laura Morgan at 419.771.9463 or visit lambertdays.com.

Friday, July 21

Things will get underway at 4 p.m. with a steak dinner at the Community Building with carryout available. A flag raising ceremony by American Legion Harvey Lewis Post 346 will be held at 5 p.m. Through a generous donation from David and Kelly Williams, the inflatable/fun zone will open at 5 p.m. and will be free to the public. A Texas Hold’Em poker tournament will begin at 7 p.m. inside the Community Building. For more information contact Jeff Agler at 419.513.0585.

The band, “Major Snafu”, will start under the tent at 7:30 p.m. and the annual fireworks will begin at approximately 10:15 p.m. In case of rain, the fireworks will be moved to Saturday. Follow lambertdays.com for any updates.

Saturday, July 22

The day will start with co-ed volleyball and co-ed softball at 9 a.m. Anyone interested in volleyball should contact Tim Mathews at 419.203.2946, and Ron Riggenbach for softball, 419.769.9991. This year’s car show is being organized by the Black Mark Mafia (BMM) and registration will start at 9 a.m., with the car show starting at 11 a.m. The “Burn Out Contest”, also organized by BMM is back, with registration starting at 2 p.m., followed by the contest at 4 p.m. For more information, contact BMM-Rick Lamb at 419.203.7246.

Cornhole registration will begin at 11 a.m. with the tournament starting at 12 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Vince Morgan at 419.771.3275.

The inflatables/fun zone and other kids games will start at 1 p.m. and at 4 p.m. the Community Building will serve a hog roast dinner (take-out available), along with music provided by Jeff Unterbrink under the tent. Bingo will start inside the building at 5 p.m. and the band Shifferly Road will start under the tent at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 23

Softball will continue at 9 a.m. and a chicken dinner, provided by Black Angus Catering, will be available starting at 11 a.m. inside the building (take-out available). The band Triad will perform inside and the inflatables/fun zone and other kids games will start at noon.

Lineup for the Lambert Days Parade will begin at 1:45 p.m. and the parade will start at 3 p.m. with Ohio City Express owners Kully and Tony Sangha serving as Grand Marshals.

There will be an array of food items available at the Community Building all weekend. There will also be 50-50 tickets and raffle tickets for the dozens of baskets and items.

New this year is a community participation project that has allowed individuals and families to paint the village’s fire hydrants. More than 80 percent of the hydrants have been spoken for to paint. The winner of the “Paint a Fire Hydrant” contest will be decided by voters at a booth that will be located inside the Community Building.

If you are interested in being a vendor please contact, Scott Bigham (419) 953-9511 or visit lambertdays.com. Refer to the website for more information or visit the Lambert Days Facebook page.