Old Fashioned Farmers Days news
Cotton Wood Jam String Band
Old Fashioned Farmers Days is just around the corner. This year’s event will take place July 4-7 at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds. Daily events will include antique tractors, engines, machinery and garden tractor displays, a quilt and needle art show, threshing and sawmill demonstrations, flea markets, crafts, animal land, kids free barrel train rides, trading post, “make and take” crafts, all kinds of good food and chain saw sculpturing.
The festival will open on Thursday, July 4 (Senior Citizens Day; seniors admitted for half price), at 9 a.m. Special events for the day will include antique car races at 10 a.m. and dog herding with McEwen Boarder Collies at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. A car show will run from 4 to 8 p.m., with Fifties and Sixties music provided by Magnificent Music Solutions. Rounding out the evening will be a performance by Cotton Wood Jam String Band, a band that plays all kinds of music, including traditional Americana music from the Appalachians, bluegrass, folk and country.
On Friday, July 5, stroll through the displays of fabulous quilts and needle arts from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. At 10 a.m., antique car racers will be on the track, while, at 2 p.m., Carol Trice of the Ohio State University Extension Office will provide farmers’ market recipes using local foods. At 4 p.m. there will be a milking demonstration with Betsy the Cow, while a kiddie tractor pull and draft horse fun night will start at 6 that evening. To end the night on a slower pace, sit and listen to Blind Date play music from the Fifties and Sixties.
On Saturday, July 6, the Mid-States Mule and Donkey Show, quilt and needle arts show and an antique tractor pull will all start at 9 a.m.
A kiddie tractor pull will start at 10 that morning, followed by the adult pedal tractor pull. At 11 a.m. there will be games for kids hosted by the First Presbyterian Church Youth Group, while, at 11:30 a.m., beans and cornbread will be served.
A Barney Fife lookalike will be strolling the grounds all afternoon, while Nancy and Company will perform from 12:30-1:30 p.m. At 2 p.m. the annual Fiddler, Banjo and Harmonica Contest will take place, emceed by Rick Hughes, with a youth talent show to follow at 4 that afternoon. At 5 p.m. there will again be milking demonstrations with Betsy the Cow. The night will close with a performance by Brent Cooper and his “Memories of the King” show.
On Sunday, the festival opens at 9 a.m. with free admittance and there will be church services at 10 that morning with Jess King Country Gospel. A turkey/ham donation dinner will run from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. At noon, an auction will be held to sell leftovers from the trading post.
Admission for the event is $3 per person per day. Those ages 12 and under are free. A three-day pass can be purchased for $7. Camping and golf cart rental are also available.
For more information about the event, visit the Old Fashioned Farmers Day website at oldfashionedfarmersdays.com or call 419.203.2700. During the festival, call 419.238.9270.