Strasburg Summer Festival returns July 25-26

The second annual Strasburg Summer Festival is set for Friday and Saturday, July 25-26 at Franklin Park, 140 Fourth St. SE. The festival will offer live entertainment, food and family activities.

Festival organizers include Chairwoman Becky Sibila, Vice Chairwoman Nancy Cregan, Secretary Missy Gilkerson and Treasurer Brent Metzger.

“We are trying to make the festival more fun for kids,” Sibila said. “We like the small-town festival feel and want to keep it going. When my daughters were small, they loved the festival.”

“We want to continue to make the festival grow,” Metzger said. “We’ve added more events on Saturday to make it bigger and better.”

The Strasburg Athletic Booster Club will serve roasted corn and chicken barbecue. Other food vendors include Sweet Canteen, with homemade ice cream by Sarah Andreas; the softball team offering pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, coneys, funnel cakes and beverages; the baseball team selling sausage sandwiches; and Strasburg St. John United Church of Christ providing slices of pie.

The festival will open Friday, July 25 at 4 p.m. and close at midnight. A classic car show will take place from 5-8 p.m., with registration beginning at 4 p.m. The entry fee is $10. Dash plaques will be given to the first 75 entries, and 25 top awards will be presented. Door prizes, a 50/50 drawing, food, beverages, participant judging and music by DJ Spikeman will round out the event.

For details call Josh Horn at 330-340-5147. Sponsors include Synergy Signs and Graphics, Impact Collision, and Keith’s Cars LLC.

From 7-10 p.m. on Friday, the father-son acoustic duo Tim and T.J. Gang of Navarre will perform live at the gazebo stage.

The festival will resume Saturday, July 26 from 10 a.m. to midnight. The Kids Tractor Pull will begin at 11 a.m., with registration at 10 a.m. at the gazebo. The event is free for children age 5-12 and includes trophies. It is sponsored by Malcuit’s Tavern and Farm Credit Mid-America.

Free pony rides and train rides around the festival grounds will be available both days. The festival committee and business owner Lewie Dreher are sponsoring the rides. Strasburg art teacher Hope Haney will offer face painting. A kids burn house will be set up by the Bolivar Fire Department. Bounce houses, a dunk tank and a pickleball tournament also will be featured. The mouse game will return, and a beer garden will be available. Twenty-eight sponsors are supporting the festival.

The festival committee includes John and Becky Sibila, Don (Duck) and Judy Krantz, Nancy Cregan, Josh Horn, and Brent Metzger.

Other events on Saturday, July 26 include the following:

—Corn eating contest at the gazebo from 1-3 p.m. Trophies will be awarded.

—A magician performing on the gazebo stage and walking the grounds from 3-5 p.m.

—Bingo at the Boy Scout pavilion at 5 p.m.

—Distinguished Citizen Award presentation to resident Nick Haswell at 6 p.m.

—Cleveland Clinic Critical Care Transport demonstration at the football field at 7 p.m.

—Live music by AlterNation, a tribute band from Brewster performing hits from the 1990s and 2000s, from 7-11 p.m.

Anyone interested in volunteering may call Becky Sibila at 330-418-4701 or Metzger at 330-204-1284. A $5 parking fee per car will be charged, with part of the proceeds donated to the Strasburg Boy Scouts.