ELKTON Baseball and beauty pageants: thats just a slice of what the Elkton Harvest Festival features July 18-20.
The theme is Slice of Summer, Brittany Venekamp, festival organizer, said. I think its important because it causes the community to come together in a positive way to celebrate our town and each other.
This years festival coincides with a baseball tournament.
All weekend is the 10U state baseball tournament, Venekamp said. That does not happen every year. This year, were the people hosting. We have like 12 teams coming for the state tournament, which starts Thursday night and continues into Sunday.
The Harvest Festival itself kicks off July 18 with the 73rd Miss Elkton Pageant at the high school.
It starts with the Slice of Greatness Gala at 6 p.m. which is $20 per person, Venekamp said. Then at 7:30 p.m., we ask everyone to join us for the Miss Elkton Pageant, which is free.
Four contestants will compete for a $750 scholarship, while five Little Miss contestants compete for a $100 scholarship.
July 19 is about motorcycles and beanbags.
From 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Emmett Fest poker run registration runs, Venekamp said. Theyll do the Emmet Fest raffle at the community center from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The poker run is from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. If youre not into motorcycles, they start the beanbag tournament with registration at 12 p.m. and bags fly at 1 p.m. Theres $1,000 plus in payout, depending on the number of registrations.
Also on July 19, the United Parish Church hosts both a pie social at 3 p.m. and a food stand from 4 to 9 p.m. A free-admission street dance featuring the Broken Oak Band begins at 7:30 p.m.
On Sunday, we start off at 12 p.m. with the Slice of Summer parade, Venekamp said. The route goes north on Buffalo Street, east on West Second Street, and then south on Elk Street At 1 p.m. we have a car and tractor show, plus a show-and-shine. Thats on main street, but everything else is mostly down at the city park.
The annual Elk Nation three-on-three basketball tournament is July 20 at 1 p.m. The all-ages event is $30 per team, features several age brackets and will be played on a new court recently installed by the city.
July 20 is also Family Fun Day at the park.
From 1 to 5 p.m. were doing unlimited inflatables even more than last year, Venekamp said. Were going to have both wet and dry inflatables. Were hoping itll be a nice, warm day so we can really enjoy those wet inflatables. Ages zero to 4 is free, ages five plus is $15 for a wristband.
Theyll also have a dunk tank, a foam party and train rides in the park.
We have face painting, food trucks and of course the vendor fair from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Venekamp said. From 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., well have pony rides and alpacas. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., well have a meet and greet with the Ice Queen and Spider-Hero. From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., our Elkton Fire Department will do a splash tour with the big firetrucks. The firemen will show kids what all goes on inside a firetruck.
There will also be a raffle to raise money for future festivals.
Were going to run a 50-50 raffle, so you can win half the pot, Venekamp said. Its $1 per ticket or six for $5. You dont have to be present to win. The more money we get towards this, the more money we have for the budget for next years Elkton Harvest Festival. We want to just continue to grow, add on, and have more and more fun things.
She said a lot of work goes into organizing the festival.
I have a group of great, dedicated volunteers who are so passionate about hosting this celebration, Venekamp said. The city of Elkton is our diamond-level sponsor and has been a huge supporter of putting on a community celebration event. Its so important when your city stands behind these big celebrations.
Other sponsors include Cloverleaf Battery Energy Storage, GeoPro and the Wiskur family of Elkton. A complete schedule is posted at the Elkton Harvest Festival Facebook page, and a series of prize drawings are planned for those who share Facebook posts about this weekends festival.
Contact Jay Roe at [email protected].
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