This year’s Crothersville Red, White and Blue Festival prince and princess contestants are, front from left, Aleigha Helblig, Samantha Orrill, Danika Densford, Ashtyn Allman, Audrey Helblig and Blayklee Toler, and back from left, Hayden Fink, Hudson Jones, Reed Baker, James Hall, Dalton Black and Daven Bell.
Submitted photo
CROTHERSVILLE — Starting with a tribute to veterans and ending with fireworks.
It doesn’t get more patriotic than that.
The 48th annual Crothersville Red, White and Blue Festival will run Thursday through Saturday on the grounds of Crothersville Community Schools.
Festival committee member Erica Gorbett said food and vendor booths and the carnival will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, but the festival officially kicks off Thursday.
She said there are nearly 10 food vendors, including popular local flavor with Grillo’s Authentic Mexican Food, Kovener’s Korner ice cream, Lucille’s On the Go and Boy Scout Troop 522 with pulled pork barbecue sandwiches. The latter is even offering delivery to local businesses and factories that are operating during festival hours by calling 812-569-3157 or 812-530-7499.
Plus, there are more than 30 vendor booths selling items or offering information.
“We set enough spaces for like 33, 36 booths, and we’ve had to add some spaces on,” Gorbett said.
Wednesday at the carnival will be Kiddie Night. Ride bracelets for that night only are available presale for $13 at The Peoples Bank in Crothersville. For Thursday through Saturday, bracelets may be purchased for $20 per night at the carnival. Bluegrass Rides will be back offering a variety of rides and games.
On Thursday, the festival will officially kick off at 5 p.m. with the traditional opening ceremonies. Albert Stormes will lead a prayer, a local veteran will be honored and Boy Scout Troop 522 will participate.
At 5:30 p.m., the festival prince and princess will be announced. Six boys and six girls representing their classes at Crothersville Elementary School are collecting donations until the day of the contest.
From 6 p.m. until the festival closes at 9 p.m., there will be a variety of live music performances on the festival stage.
The festival will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday with more live entertainment.
Saturday will start with the inaugural Carl Bowman Memorial 5K Run/Walk and Kids Run at 7:45 a.m., breakfast at Hamacher Hall from 8 to 10 a.m. and baby contest registration in the auxiliary gymnasium and car show registration at Bard Street Park at 9 a.m. before the festival grounds officially open at 10 a.m.
Registration for the 5K and 1-mile Kids Run (ages 6 to 12) will start at 7 a.m. near the flagpole in front of the school. The cost is $20. Proceeds will be used for the Crothersville girls track and field team, as Bowman was a longtime teacher and coach at the school until his death Jan. 23. Make checks payable to Crothersville HS Girls Track.
The baby contest entry fee is $10. Judging in four categories (0 to 6 months, 7 to 12 months, 1 to 2 years and 3 to 4 years) will be at 10 a.m., and the winners will be announced a half-hour later on the festival stage. It’s sponsored by Phi Beta Psi sorority.
A cake walk conducted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1083 at 11 a.m. and a performance by the Southern Indiana Cloggers at noon will precede the parade at 1:30 p.m.
The parade will step off from Bard Street to U.S. 31 and then turn on Moore Street and end on Preston Street back at the festival grounds. The grand marshal is Floyd Barger.
“He has actually put on the tractor show for a while, so he has had a lot of involvement with the festival,” Gorbett said of Barger organizing the antique tractor show on Howard Street. “Everybody knows who Floyd is, and they know what he does for the festival and what he has done for years.”
Other live performances will take place onstage until the festival ends with a bang with a fireworks show by Straight Shooters Fireworks at 10 p.m. at Bard Street Park.
Gorbett said local industry Cerrowire stepped up to organize the car show in addition to covering the cost of the fireworks show.
All makes and models are welcome at the car show, and there is no registration fee. Judging will start at 11 a.m., and trophies will be awarded for best in show, people’s choice and veteran’s choice. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the day, and vehicles may join in the parade at 1:30 p.m.
“They are 100% behind the car show. We did it one year, and we don’t have the manpower to throw one on, so Holly (Smith) with Cerrowire got with us and asked if there was anything Cerrowire could start hosting every year, and we told her the car show,” Gorbett said. “They are actually the ones that paid for the fireworks, too.”
Basketball also will be part of the festival. The annual Hoopfest tournament will take place Friday and Saturday in the school gymnasium, and outside the gym for the duration of the festival will be a dunk tank to benefit the Crothersville elementary basketball program.
Organizer T.J. Mills said volunteers are welcome to work or be dunked. The cost will be $5 for three throws or $10 for seven throws. Hoosier Bouncy Houses donated the use of the dunk tank as a partner.
Outside the festival grounds, food will be served from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Crothersville-Vernon Township Volunteer Fire Department, 200 Moore St. The menu will consist of fish sandwiches, chicken tenders, hot dogs and french fries. Breakfast will be served for the first three hours Saturday.
Delivery lunch and dinner orders for Aisin and Cerrowire employees can be placed online at crothersvillefire.com the week of the festival. For information, call 812-793-3473 or email [email protected].
48th annual Crothersville Red, White and Blue Festival
Wednesday
5 to 9 p.m.: Food and vendor booths and carnival open
Thursday
5 p.m.: Food and vendor booths and carnival open; opening ceremonies
5:30 p.m.: Prince and princess crownings
6 p.m.: Fishers of Men; Carolyn Weddle with her elementary students
7 p.m.: Coppage Family
8 p.m.: Redemption’s Cross
9 p.m.: Festival closes
Friday
5 p.m.: Food and vendor booths and carnival open
6 p.m.: Straight Shooter Band
7 p.m.: Jackson Snelling
8 p.m.: Keith Swinney Band
10 p.m.: Festival closes
Saturday
7 a.m.: 5K run/walk and Kids Run registration
7:45 a.m.: Carl Bowman Memorial 5K Run/Walk and Kids Run
8 to 10 a.m.: Breakfast at Hamacher Hall
9 a.m.: Baby contest registration in auxiliary gymnasium and car show registration at Bard Street Park
10 a.m.: Food and vendor booths and carnival open; baby contest judging
10:30 a.m.: Baby contest winners announced
11 a.m.: VFW cake walk
Noon: Southern Indiana Cloggers
1:30 p.m.: Parade
5 p.m.: On the House
6 p.m.: Live music
7 p.m.: Steve Deweese
8 p.m.: Mudslide
10 p.m.: Fireworks at Bard Street Park
11 p.m.: Festival closes