After a year off, Mount Sterling’s Good Ole Days Festival is back by popular demand.
“We took a year off to regroup and come up with new ideas,” said Lana Cydrus, who returns as co-chair of the event with Bonnie Liff. Both women work for the village.
The festival will take place Sept. 21-23 at Veterans Field in Mount Sterling. The planning committee meets at 5 p.m. the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at town hall. Anyone is welcome to attend the meetings and offer their assistance.
“We can use all the help we can get, especially with things like the contests and the parade,” Liff said.
In addition to the queens contest, horseshoe contest, baby contest, and baking contest, all of which are Good Ole Days traditions, this year’s festival will include a cornhole tournament and old-time costume contest.
“The costume contest, I thought, would be a great thing for grownups to do. And cornhole seems to be the big thing now, so we thought we’d have a tournament,” Liff said.
Other new features are a mechanical bull, a new ride company, and an auction.
“Perry Amusements is doing our rides. A lot of places have been using them and they have had pretty good turnout,” Liff said.
The committee is collecting new items and gift certificates for the auction, which also will include a quilt created by ladies who meet every Thursday at town hall to hone their craft. In the past, the group’s quilt has been raffled off at the festival.
“We’ve heard about quilts being auctioned off at other events and bringing in big amounts, so we thought we’d try it,” Cydrus said.
Auction items may be dropped off at Mount Sterling Town Hall any weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The planning committee has already set the schedule for the three-day festival. Opening ceremonies will be at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21. That evening will include a baby contest and entertainment. On Saturday, Sept. 22, highlights include a car show, tractor show, queens contest, euchre tournament and more, including recognition of this year’s citizen of the year, Dave Taylor, chief of the Tri-County Joint Fire District. On Sunday, Sept. 23, activities include but are not limited to the baking contest, queens contest, auction, parade and raffles.
Throughout the weekend, volunteers will demonstrate old-time cooking techniques and share stories of Mount Sterling’s past. Admission and parking for the festival will be free, as is entry in the parade.
For more information, contact Bonnie Liff at 740-869-2498 or Lana Cydrus at 869-4546.
