ORANGEVILLE - The Orangeville Firemen's Festival will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the fire station in downtown Orangeville.
The lunch stand will be open all three days with cheeseburgers, hamburgers, barbecue sandwiches, hot dogs, french fries, nachos, pop, water and pie on the menu. Oak Ridge Ranch Amusements will provide a carnival of games and amusements for young and old.
Fire department introductions and presentations will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, and the Orangeville Lions Club will take the stage for the remainder of the evening. There will be a pie-eating contest, an old-time sing-along, a style show and other skits. A 50/50 raffle will be sponsored by the Lions for the evening, with the proceeds going to offset the cost of Saturday's fireworks.
The beer garden opens at 5 p.m. Friday. Open mike will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The firemen's water fights begin at 6 p.m. The Mascot Theory featuring Orangeville's own Paul Metz on percussion goes on stage at 8 p.m. The music of The Mascot Theory is Americana-tinged, folk-country rock across a spread of influences.
Saturday begins with the bake sale at 8 a.m. in the fire station. Donations of baked goods are appreciated.
The Smokin by the Richland Barbecue Competition at the firemen's beer garden begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, with the beer garden opening at noon. The Blind Bogey Band will perform from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., and Free Fall will perform from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
The festival parade will begin at 11 a.m. at the high school, proceeding south on Quarry Lane, east on Meadows, west on Valleyview to Chilton, north on East, east on High Street and ending at the high school.
At noon, pulled pork sandwiches with all the fixings will be served at the fire station. Also at noon, the Lions Club car, tractor and motorcycle show begins on Main Street. People are invited to drive their classics in the parade, then park them at the show for everyone to view.
The kiddie tractor pull will take place at 1 p.m. in front of the stage. Bruce Johnson and the Stephenson County Farm Bureau Young Leaders tractor and pulling sled will challenge all entrants to a full pull. There will be three classes: Under 45 pounds; 46-60 pounds and 61-80 pounds. Weigh-in and registration will be at 12:30 p.m. in front of the stage. In case of rain, the pull will be at the fire station. There will be garden tractor pulls at 1 p.m. in the field west of Richland Creek. At 2 p.m. or immediately following the kiddie tractor pulls, there will be kiddie water fights in front of the fire station. It will be open to any children up to sixth grade.
At 2:30 p.m., the annual Great Richland Creek Duck Race will begin. Adopted ducks will cost $5 and could win the first prize of $300. The first 33 ducks across the finish line will win a cash prize. Tickets are available from any fireman. Children's bingo will be held at 3:30 p.m. at the fire station. Prizes that will please all ages will be given away.
Contestant registration begins at 7 p.m. for the local version of "The Price is Right/Let's Make a Deal," which begins at 8 p.m. on stage. At the end of the games, the winning ticket for the cash raffle of $500 will be drawn. Tickets are priced at $1 each or $5 for six tickets and are available from any fireman.
The grand finale of the festival is the fireworks show.
The lunch stand will be open all three days with cheeseburgers, hamburgers, barbecue sandwiches, hot dogs, french fries, nachos, pop, water and pie on the menu. Oak Ridge Ranch Amusements will provide a carnival of games and amusements for young and old.
Fire department introductions and presentations will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, and the Orangeville Lions Club will take the stage for the remainder of the evening. There will be a pie-eating contest, an old-time sing-along, a style show and other skits. A 50/50 raffle will be sponsored by the Lions for the evening, with the proceeds going to offset the cost of Saturday's fireworks.
The beer garden opens at 5 p.m. Friday. Open mike will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The firemen's water fights begin at 6 p.m. The Mascot Theory featuring Orangeville's own Paul Metz on percussion goes on stage at 8 p.m. The music of The Mascot Theory is Americana-tinged, folk-country rock across a spread of influences.
Saturday begins with the bake sale at 8 a.m. in the fire station. Donations of baked goods are appreciated.
The Smokin by the Richland Barbecue Competition at the firemen's beer garden begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, with the beer garden opening at noon. The Blind Bogey Band will perform from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., and Free Fall will perform from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
The festival parade will begin at 11 a.m. at the high school, proceeding south on Quarry Lane, east on Meadows, west on Valleyview to Chilton, north on East, east on High Street and ending at the high school.
At noon, pulled pork sandwiches with all the fixings will be served at the fire station. Also at noon, the Lions Club car, tractor and motorcycle show begins on Main Street. People are invited to drive their classics in the parade, then park them at the show for everyone to view.
The kiddie tractor pull will take place at 1 p.m. in front of the stage. Bruce Johnson and the Stephenson County Farm Bureau Young Leaders tractor and pulling sled will challenge all entrants to a full pull. There will be three classes: Under 45 pounds; 46-60 pounds and 61-80 pounds. Weigh-in and registration will be at 12:30 p.m. in front of the stage. In case of rain, the pull will be at the fire station. There will be garden tractor pulls at 1 p.m. in the field west of Richland Creek. At 2 p.m. or immediately following the kiddie tractor pulls, there will be kiddie water fights in front of the fire station. It will be open to any children up to sixth grade.
At 2:30 p.m., the annual Great Richland Creek Duck Race will begin. Adopted ducks will cost $5 and could win the first prize of $300. The first 33 ducks across the finish line will win a cash prize. Tickets are available from any fireman. Children's bingo will be held at 3:30 p.m. at the fire station. Prizes that will please all ages will be given away.
Contestant registration begins at 7 p.m. for the local version of "The Price is Right/Let's Make a Deal," which begins at 8 p.m. on stage. At the end of the games, the winning ticket for the cash raffle of $500 will be drawn. Tickets are priced at $1 each or $5 for six tickets and are available from any fireman.
The grand finale of the festival is the fireworks show.