ThisWeek CW 08/23/2012
The 92nd annual Canal Winchester Labor Day Festival is expected to be one of the biggest yet, according to city officials.
“I’m so excited for the whole weekend,” Mayor Michael Ebert said. “The Blues and Ribfest saw their largest crowds this year and I think we should, too. We’ve got a fantastic festival committee with a lot of new faces on it and new energy.”
In recent years, the Labor Day Festival has drawn more than 30,000 visitors. This year’s festival will run from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1; noon to 11 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 2; and 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 3.
As has been the tradition, the festival’s first event will be the Peggy Wood Scholarship Pageant at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The focus of this year’s festival will be honoring Canal Winchester’s World War II veterans, with the 21 surviving WWII veterans serving as the parade’s grand marshals.
“We have at least 21 WWII vets, which is, as far as we know, the largest assembly of WWII veterans we’ve ever brought together for an event,” Ebert said. “We’d like for everyone to come out to the parade, where we’ll have flags to wave and we can all give them a well-deserved standing ovation.”
The parade caps off the festival every Labor Day weekend. This year’s parade begins at 1 p.m. Monday.
Live entertainment plays a big role in the festival each year and this year is no exception. Kory Adams will be the headliner on Saturday, followed throughout the weekend by several other local and regional acts, including the British Invasion, Marquis 66, Usual Suspect & Repeat Offenders and Josh Eagle and the Harvest City Band.
“Kory is said to be the most promising male pop artist to hit the music industry since Justin Bieber,” Labor Day committee president Phil Hanlon said.
Besides the pageants and music, the festival includes food, arts and crafts, rides and games in the green space behind the Stradley Place stage.
“This year, we decided to make it easier for the kids to ride the rides all day by introducing a 12-hour wristband, available for $12 both Saturday and Sunday,” Ebert said.
He said he’s also looking forward to the car show. The annual cruise-in, a crowd favorite, will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday with awards being presented at 4 p.m. that afternoon.
During the festival, the Quilters on Canal will host a craft and quilting show at the community center.
In keeping with the festival theme, the show will feature two patriotic quilts that will be donated to veterans’ organizations following the festival. The quilters will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Monday, and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Another attraction this year will be tours of the National Barber Museum from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
With so many former residents returning for the Labor Day Festival, the Canal Winchester Alumni Scholarship Organization will once again host its annual 5K run/walk on Saturday morning and there will be a Canal Winchester High School alumni get-together at 5:45 p.m., Sunday at the high school cafetorium.
“The Canal Winchester Labor Day Festival is a family fun event,” Hanlon said. “With nearly 30 food vendors, arts and crafts, rides, games, entertainment and the parade, there’s something sure to please everyone.”
More information and a full schedule of events are available online at www.cwlabor day.org.