Just because they’re called the Good Ole Days doesn’t mean there’s nothing new.
Mount Sterling’s annual fall festival will take place Sept. 19-21 at Veterans Field on High Street. A Mustang car rally and a euchre tournament are among the new features.
Friday, Sept. 19
The village’s Citizen of the Year will be announced during opening ceremonies at 5 p.m. on Friday.
The new euchre tournament will start at 6 p.m. at the shelter house, under the direction of Junior Liff.
Pre-registration is not necessary.
A baby contest also is slated for 6 p.m. Registration will take place beforehand at the bandstand. The boys and girls will be judged separately in the following age categories: 0-6 months, 7-18 months, 19-24 months, and 25-36 months.
The Nashville Band will perform at 7.
Saturday, Sept. 20
A tractor show and horseshoe tournament will start the festivities at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Pre-registration is not required. The queens contest will follow at noon.
The Posse band will perform at 7 p.m. to round out Saturday’s entertainment.
Sunday, Sept. 21
The last day of the festival will start with a religious service at 10 a.m., followed at noon by the Mustang car show.
Bonnie Liff, one of the festival organizers and a Mustang fanatic, came up with the idea.
"London has the Cobra show every year, so I thought we could do Mustangs," she said.
The entry fee is $10 per car. Awards will go to the first-, second- and third-place vehicles, as well as to the mayor’s choice and viewer’s choice.
The noon hour also has been set aside for the visiting queens’ luncheon.
Contests fire up again at 1 p.m. with a cornhole tournament and at 2 with a baking contest.
This year, there is a $3 entry fee for adults and a $1 entry fee for children participating in the baking contest. The categories are: pies (fruit or cream), cakes (regular or decorated), cookies (drop or bar), bread (yeast or other), and children’s cookies (drop or bar). Each entry must be presented in a disposable pan, labeled and accompanied by a copy of the recipe.
The parade line-up is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will step off at 4. Anyone can participate. The new Good Ole Days queen and her court will be crowned after the parade at approximately 5 p.m.
The festival will close with an auction and raffle. The featured auction item is a quilt made by the Calico Cut-Ups, a group of women who meet regularly at the Town Hall Annex to quilt. The group donates the proceeds to the festival every year.
"Once again, they have done a beautiful quilt for us," Cydrus said.
Every Day
Throughout the Good Ole Days Festival, amusement rides will run and food concessions will be sold. Volunteers will demonstrate old-time cooking techniques and tell stories of Mount Sterling’s past.
Admission to the festival is free, as is parking. For more information about the various contests or the festival in general, contact Bonnie Liff at 740-248-6974 or Town Hall at 740-869-2040.
