Lots of activities set for Fourth, weekend

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The 2019 Independence Day celebration and the 43rd annual Old Fashioned Farmers Days will both kick off this Thursday in Van Wert.

Several activities are planned both downtown and on the grounds of the Van Wert County Historical Museum for this year’s “Holiday at Home” Fourth of July celebration on Thursday.

The annual “Holiday at Home” Parade will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday on Main Street in Van Wert. The parade will begin at the YWCA at Main and Cherry and end at the intersection of Main and Shannon streets. A number of patriotic groups, including veterans’ organizations and military units, will participate in the parade, along with law enforcement departments, fire and EMS vehicles, floats, marching bands, local businesses and churches, and other participants.

There will also be a fireworks display held on the grounds of the Van Wert High School-Middle School complex at dusk.

Activities at the museum will also begin at 11 a.m. Thursday, and include a display of military uniforms and other military and patriotic items at the museum, as well as music by the Van Wert Area Community Concert Band, displays of arts and crafts items, and food.

The 2019 edition of Old Fashioned Farmers Days will also start Thursday and run through Saturday, July 6, at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds.

Daily activities include a trading post, tractor swap meet, a quilt and needle arts show, sawmill and threshing demonstrations, antique farm implement displays, wood carving and rug hooking demonstrations, and vendors selling a variety of items

Thursday’s activities include classic kids’ games (three-legged races, sack races, an egg toss, relay races, and a hula hoop contest), a car show with music from the Fifties, a tractor parade, tractor games, and a hot dog eating contest.

Friday’s events include an ice cream eating contest, classic kids’ games, a Kids Ole Fashioned Cow Milking event, another hot dog eating contest, tractor games, a kids’ pedal tractor pull, a tug-a-truck event, and Fifties music from 7-9 p.m.

Saturday’s activities will include an Antique Tractor Pull, a display of Native American relics and artifacts, a Kids’ and Adult Pedal Tractor Pulls, Paw Patrol and PJ Mask characters, hot dog and ice cream eating contests, and a concert by Country group Amarillo Sky, starting at 8 p.m.