CENTERBURG – The Heart of Ohio USA Association is already hard at work planning the best festival in its history! As a gift to the community for its continued support for this year, the association is offering free amusement rides for all throughout the festival.
The festival opens at 5 p.m. on June 22, at 5 p.m. on June 23 and at 11 a.m. on June 24, following the parade at 10 a.m. Rides and food are available immediately at opening. Buses will shuttle festivalgoers who park at the high school on Friday evening and Saturday.
There will be lots of fun things to do for all ages, including live bands.
Thursday is Kid’s Night at 7 p.m. with a baby crawl and toddler track meet. This is open to all crawling babies up to age 2. The toddler track meet is foot races for toddler walkers up to age 3. There will be trophies and cash prizes. This is a lot of fun to watch.
The annual Little Miss Liberty & Little Uncle Sammy pageant will start at 7:30 p.m. At 8 p.m., Remy and Friends will be back to entertain the kiddos with his magic and his many friends to show off his ventriloquism talents.
Friday evening’s entertainment consists of “Six Miles to Nellie” at 6 p.m. and “At It Again,” two area groups that are gaining a great following!
“Six Miles to Nellie” features Courtney DeCosky as lead vocalist. Bringing the sound of generations of storytelling through music, the band includes songwriter/guitarist Jeffrey Williams, bassist Michael Wolfe, drummer and vocalist Les Harmeyer, singer/songwriter John Schnabel and Robert Shipley on keyboards.
“At It Again” at 8 p.m. is Central Ohio’s premier country band playing today’s country mixed with some hits from the past. This boot-kickin’ group consists of Shane Langley on lead vocals, Mike Allen on lead guitar, Bruce MacLaughlin on bass guitar and Austin Thorpe on drums. The guys enjoy putting on a good show as well as watching the Hardwick family dance during their performances. They look forward to seeing you June 23, at 8 p.m. for a yee-haw of a night!
Saturday is, of course, the BIG day beginning with the parade at 10 a.m. This year, we have added a “Cruise In” with classic car owners driving in the parade and then parking on the grassy area of the ballfield to be on display throughout the day. The grand marshals are the Hilliar Township, who maintain the park where the festival is held. They are Eric Cochran, Jason Rogers and Gary Ross. The theme will be “Hilliar Township Trustees: Honorably Caring for your Park, Roads and Cemeteries.”
The Centerbur High School band will provide a patriotic concert at the flag raising following the parade. At noon, the princess party takes the stage. This year, we have Jasmine and Cinderella! The little ones are welcome to wear their favorite princess dress for the occasion. After a singalong and dance party, the princesses will retire to the roadside park for a meet-and-greet until 4 p.m. At 12:30 p.m., there will be a karate demonstration on the stage.
The Ohio State sanctioned kids tractor pull begins at 1 p.m. after registration at noon. They will pull in the drive just in front of the stage, so there will be bleacher seating available.
At 4 p.m., Eclectic Campfire will perform on stage. Malcom Spence is known as the “man of 1,000 songs” as he sings a great mix of pop, rock and country from the 50s through the 80s, so you are sure to hear some of your favorites.
The stage then features an hour with Sinatra from Josh Williams at 5:30 p.m. He will sing many of your favorite songs of “Old Blue Eyes,” and don’t miss his final song as he belts out “My Way!”
The 7 o’clock band will be a huge treat! From the soles of their white socks to the tops of their famous fedoras, the Sensational Soul Brothers Show Band and Revue gives you a show you will remember for a long time to come! It’s just like the Blues Brothers are right there on stage! You’ll hear “Jake” and “Elwood” do the famous hits like “Soul Man,” “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and “Rubber Biscuit” with some other great songs like “Jailhouse Rock,” “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “Respect!”
Performing the great R&B and soul classics from the 1980 original “Blues Brothers” film, as well as several songs from the “Blues Brothers” 2000 movie, their 1978 concert tour and their appearances on “Saturday Night Live,” they add their own original comedy bits while staying true to the great music of that era and they throw in a couple of surprises at every show, including lots of audience participation!
The group is from Dublin, Ohio, featuring Malcolm Spence as “Elwood” and Lonnie Freeman as “Jake” and the bands are the Sound of Chicago Horns and the Memphis Stax Rhythm. This is a really big SHOW! Get there early to get your seat! They are playing a three-hour show right up until the fireworks at 10 p.m.
Of course, the best fireworks display in the five-county area goes off at 10 p.m. You will hear lots of “oohs and aahs” as Hamberg Fireworks gives us a wonderful show!
Other features of the festival include the largest craft show to date with over 50 registered! The COJFD will have a fire truck and the smoke house on hand for the kids. All children should visit the smoke house in order to be trained in the best way possible to escape in case of a fire. This could save a child’s life, so be sure to include this between the rides!
Extra food vendors are on hand to accommodate the larger crowds expected for the free rides. Some other things are in the works and will be announced as plans progress.
Stay tuned for more information as the spring progresses. Since we are offering free rides for all, we will be doing some fundraisers soon. Watch for the information on those and please participate and help us make this happen!
Meanwhile, mark your calendar for all three days! You won’t want to miss a moment!
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