Dennis Albertson, of Hamilton, does some "Plein Air" painting at the annual Renaissance in Roaonke on Saturday, Oct. 14, in downtown Roanoke. The event featured "Plein Air" competitions, music, entertainment, food and children's activities.

Tammy Jordan (left), of Fort Wayne, and Amy Neher, of Roanoke, look over some crafted jewelry at aooth at the Renaissance in Roanoke on Saturday, Oct. 14. The annual event featured a juried outdoor art marketplace and fair on Main Street.

Larry Ford, one-half of the Dumpster Drummers, performs at the Renaissance in Roanoke on Saturday, Oct. 14. The Dumpster Drummers showed the audience that music can be made on objects like coffee cans and trash barrels.

The winners of the 2017 Historic Photo Contest, Bryan Ballinger (second from left) and Jeanne Hastings (third from left), receive their awards Saturday, Sept. 23, during the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival. Ballinger won first place in the physical environment category, and took both first and second places in the social environment category. Hastings won second place in the physical environment category.

The Arrowhead Award, presented by the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival committee to someone who has demonstrated its dedication to the community and faithfulness to the annual festival, was given this year to not just one person, but to the 50 or more people who make up the Huntington Optimist Club.

The award was presented to four members representing the club in a ceremony at the Pioneer Festival Saturday, Sept. 23.

Bryan Ballinger earned three of the four awards in the 2017 History in the Making Photo Contest, with Jeanne Hastings claiming the fourth award.

The contest, held in conjunction with the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival, was sponsored by the Huntington County Historical Museum and the Huntington County TAB. Photographers could enter pictures taken over the past five years and depicting people and places in Huntington County.

Bryan Ballinger’s photo of Betsy Ballinger walking down Salamonie Road took first place in the social environment category of the History in the Making Photo Contest, which was a part of the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival. Winners were announced this past Saturday, Sept. 23.

Lisa (left) and Mark Woolever sing as they stroll through the encampment area at the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival on Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Huntington County Fairgrounds. The festival continues today, Sunday, Sept. 24, through 5 p.m.

Keturah Hyde, of Huntington, was part of a mounted shooting demonstration at the encampment at the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival on Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Huntingotn County Fairgrounds. The festival continues today, Sunday, Sept. 24, through 5 p.m.

Ella McDaniel, 10, of Huntington, attemps to feed a llama at the  Hoosier Camel Encounter petting zoo at the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival at the Huntington County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept. 23.

The Merriman family from Wort Wayne -- (from left) Shannon, Jody and Jordan -- look for a special Boy Scout Logo keychain in the Men's Market at the annual Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival at the Huntington County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept. 23. The festival continues today until 5 p.m.

Molly Woods (left) and Arren Reust, both of North Manchester, search through a box of old patches they discovered in the antiques area of the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival on Saturday, Sept. 23.

Every year, the evil villain seems certain to be victorious.

And every year, the hero overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to save the day.

It’s a theme that never changes — although the twists and turns from beginning to end take a different route each time.

This weekend, “Polly Pureheart Prevails” as the Huntington North High School Masque and Gavel returns to the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival.

Saturday, September 23

10 :00 a.m. Festival opens
Opening firearm salute by 1st U.S. Light Artillery, 1812
Musical entertainment by Bob Hart Dulcimers, stage
Sponsored by Sportsmobile North
Melodrama by Masque & Gavel, opera house

10:45 a.m.
Pioneer school house, pioneer village

Carrie Munson likes being on the move.

Maybe it’s in her genes.

Her great-great-grandparents immigrated from Germany in the mid-1800s, crossing the country in a Conestoga wagon on their way to homesteading in Nebraska.

“So I kind of have that pioneering spirit,” Munson says.

Munson was born in New York and lived in Illinois and Wisconsin before making her way to Indiana. She now lives near Logansport, but can legitimately claim a large chunk of northern Indiana as her home base.

The Roanoke Tractor Pullers Association again put on the annual demolition derby at the pull track at Roanoke Park as part of the Roanoke Fall Festival on Saturday, Sept. 9.

June Ball holds up a cake that looks like a moon in the sky, baked by Jessica Hartmus, during the Roanoke Fall Festival Cake Auction on Saturday, Sept. 9. Auctioneer Jarron Miller, of Sullivan Auctioneers LLC, calls the bidding. The annual auction is a fund-raiser for the festival.

Sarah Cash shows her audience a tortoise and a hare during the Silly Safari show at the Roanoke Fall Festival on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9. She later put them down for a race.

The Huntington North High School Marching Vikes make their way down the Roanoke Fall Festival Parade route on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9.

The flaot from Dennis Farms heads down the parade route at the Roanoke Fall Festival on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9.

Ava Wagner (third from left), 5, waves several American flags while waiting for the start of the Roanoke Fall Festival Parade on Saturday, Sept. 9, at the coner of Second and Main streets in Roanoke. With Ava are (from left) her father, Doug; her sister, Emma; and her mother, Sarah.

Justin Wise, of Tiffin, OH, heads down the track at Roanoke Park during the NTPA Tractor Pull on Friday night, Sept. 8, at the Roanoke Fall Festival.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

5:00-9:00 P.M.
CARNIVAL DOLLAR NIGHT

6:00 P.M.
FOOD ALLEY OPENS
Roanoke Park

6:00 P.M.
PET PARADE
Park Entrance
Registration required

6:30 P.M.
PIE-EATING CONTEST - Main Tent
Registration limited
Celebrity, Adult, and Youth Competitions
Visit from Icy the Komet’s mascot

At this year’s Roanoke Fall Festival, the bridges leading into Roanoke Park will be golden and the festival’s main tent will be green.

They’re references to the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City from “The Wizard of Oz.” The beloved movie inspired the theme of this year’s festival, which is “There’s No Place Like Home.”

The theme aligns with festival spokesman Dave Tucker’s view of the annual event, now in its 64th year.

“It brings families back together again,” he says. “People come from out of town to come back home for the festival.”

Evan Wall is in the lead as a camel named Cash gives a ride to Braxton Stouder (center) and Madison Voland on Friday night, Aug. 11, at the Andrews Summer Festival.

Kaleb Challender and his son, Weston, check out a donkey on Friday night, Aug. 11,  at the Hoosier Camel Encounter petting zoo at the Andrews Summer Festival.

The Hoosier Camel Encounter site was a popular attraction as it provided pony and camel rides and a petting zoo on Friday, Aug. 11, and Saturday, Aug. 12, during the Andrews Summer Festival.

James (left) and Martha Hunt, of Huntington, returned to Martha Hunt's hometown of Andrews on Friday night, Aug. 11, to check out the Andrews Summer Festival Car Show.