ThisWeek CW 9-3-2015
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/08/31/activities-planned-sept–5-7-city-setting-up-for-95th-labor-day-festival.html
Canal Winchester will celebrate its 95th Labor Day Festival this year with the help of longtime educator Beverly Downing, who will be the grand marshal of this year’s Labor Day parade.
Downing is retired from the Canal Winchester school district where she worked as a teacher and then as principal at Canal Winchester Elementary School.
“Each year, the Labor Day Committee nominates and votes for deserving candidates to be the parade grand marshal,” Mayor Michael Ebert said. “This year’s final choice was Beverly Downing, an educator influential in the lives of Canal Winchester children for many years. The Canal Winchester Labor Day committee recognizes her for her remarkable contributions to the community.”
Hours for the Canal Winchester Labor Day Festival will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 6, and 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 7.
Rides and midway games will operate from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday. Jeff Wyler Chevrolet will sponsor free rides from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Saturday’s activities will start with the Peggy Wood Scholarship Pageant at 11 a.m. in the Oley Speaks Auditorium.
A children-only parade will step off from the district Education Center, 100 Washington St., at 11:30 a.m., leading participants downtown for the official opening of the festival at noon on the main Diley Ridge Medical Center Stage, which will be set up on South High Street in front of Huntington Bank.
Saturday afternoon entertainment at the Stradley Park stage will feature music by the Winchester Steel Co. and Second Chance. Evening entertainment on the Diley Ridge main stage will include performances by Braden Stover at 5 p.m. and Bon Journey at 8 p.m.
Registration for the annual car show begins at 9 a.m. Sunday and costs $12 per vehicle. A trophy presentation will take place on the main stage at 4 p.m.
Sunday’s main stage entertainment includes 3-Cat Day at 5 p.m., followed by Hotel California at 8 p.m.
Monday’s activities will feature Canal Winchester’s 95th annual Labor Day parade at 1 p.m., sponsored by Waste Management.
Main stage entertainment will begin at 11 a.m. with the Cornerstone Gospel Quartet, followed by performances from All 4 Him at noon, and Willie Phoenix & The Soul Underground at 4 p.m.
In addition to children’s activities, midway rides and street vendors, a quilt show will be available for viewing each day at the Frances Steube Community Center, 22 S. Trine St.
The Kingy’s hospitality tent near Stradley Park will be open to visitors age 21 and older.
“The Canal Winchester Labor Day Festival is a family event,” Ebert said. “I always look forward to the entertainment we are able to attract to our Labor Day Festival — seems we never have a problem filling any vacancies.
“Also I’d like to remind people if they plan to attend Friday or Saturday evening concerts, they might want to bring along a lawn chair. Seating will be available but we are expecting huge crowds both nights if the weather holds out.”
Destination Canal Winchester Executive Director Bruce Jarvis said that after a very successful Ribs and Blues Festival, the Labor Day Festival will be a spotlight event for the city.
“I can say that the Labor Day Festival brings out families seeking affordable fun and entertainment from all over the area,” Jarvis said. “This event has been making fond memories for generations and is a hallmark of growing up here. My kids are grown now with kids of their own — and so it all starts over again for the next wave. That’s tradition.”