Lambert Days celebration this weekend

VW independent/submitted information

OHIO CITY — The Ohio City Park Board is excited to announce its 51st Lambert Days celebration this coming weekend, including the selection of this year’s parade grand marshal, Deb Strickler. Activities also include communitywide garage sales occurring throughout the village and Liberty Township.

The festival will start off with a steak dinner at 4 p.m. Friday, July 20, at Harvey Lewis American Legion Post 346 in Ohio, while the post will have its annual flag-raising ceremony at 5 that afternoon. Kids’ games, inflatables, and other activities will also start at 5. Mike Bouillon will provide music under the tent at 6 p.m., followed by the regional rock band Colt & Crew at 8 that evening.

There will also be a Texas Hold ‘Em tournament at 7 p.m., along with a Monte Carlo Night at 8. The Lambert Days fireworks display will start at 10:15 (Saturday night is the rain date). The Park Board has earmarked an additional 20 percent toward the display this year and it promises to be the biggest display yet.

Saturday morning starts off with a men’s softball tournament at 8 a.m. at the front diamond and breakfast at the concession stand along Ohio 118 provided by the EPIC youth group of Ohio City Community Church of God.

Coed volleyball begins at 9 that morning, with kids’ games, inflatables, and other youth activities starting at 11, along with face painting, a petting zoo, horse drawn cart rides, and other kids’ activities.

Cornhole and 3-on-3 basketball tournaments start at 1 p.m. Saturday, with registration at noon. The park building will be having a hog roast dinner at 4 p.m., with music under the tent with Jeff Unterbrink.

There will be bingo inside the building at 5 p.m., while the evening will close with regional country band Cadillac Ranch.

The Lambert Days Car Show will be held Sunday at noon, with registration starting at 10 a.m. and judging at 1:30 that afternoon. Kids’ games, inflatables, and other youth activities will also start at noon. Ohio City’s 51st Lambert Days Parade starts at 3 p.m. Sunday and will end at Fireman’s Park. In the past, this has been the biggest parade in the county and 2018 promises to be bigger than last year’s event. Organizers have been contacted by a couple of individual Lambert automobile owners, who are scheduled to appear in the parade with their vehicles this year.

For more information visit the Lambert Days website at www.lambertdays.com, like the festival page on Facebook, or follow the event on Twitter.