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Salamonie Summer Festival carries on with abbreviated event schedule

Treva Flemming (middle) poses a question to Wyatt Yoder (left), of the Yoder family, and Johnna Cummins, of the Sheets family, during a round of the Family Feud tournament held at the 2019 Salamonie Summer Festival. This year, the game will be held on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Knight Bergman Center.
Treva Flemming (middle) poses a question to Wyatt Yoder (left), of the Yoder family, and Johnna Cummins, of the Sheets family, during a round of the Family Feud tournament held at the 2019 Salamonie Summer Festival. This year, the game will be held on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Knight Bergman Center. TAB file photo.

While most of the summer festival season has been kaboshed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the town of Warren has decided to have an abbreviated version of the Salamonie Summer Festival this year complete with fireworks.

Festival Chair Cheryl DeWeese says this year’s festivities will be a “mini series” of the usual activities-packed event. However, there will still be fun things to do for all ages throughout the end of this month to celebrate America, Salamonie style.

“It’s just a little bit of what we were going to do,” DeWeese says, with a nod to ongoing restrictions due to the healthcare crisis. “It’s just kind of spread out instead of three days, on a lot of different days.”

DeWeese says the festival committee was “pretty bummed” when they heard the town board called for the festival’s cancellation.

“We got together again and said, ‘Can we just do a dab of things?’” she recalls. “So I went back to the town and said, ‘Can we just do a few things later?’ and the board agreed to it. … It’s made my committee happier for sure, because we put a lot of work in it.”

Already the festival has had a movie night, live band and fund-raiser dinner in July. Continuing on to Saturday, Aug. 22, events get back underway with a car, truck and bike show at the Knight Bergman Center, located below the hill. Entry is free and prizes will be awarded.

A family fun freeway will also be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the front lawn of the Knight Bergman Center.

At 10 a.m. that day Family Feud gears up for some friendly game show-style team competition, also at the KBC.

From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. the festival will feature Touch-a-Truck, inviting everyone to get behind the wheel and rub elbows with their hometown heroes. Fire engines, police cars, ambulances, construction truck, dump trucks and others will be parked below the hill at the KBC for the free interactive event.

Also on Aug. 22, the Nick Harless Band will entertain from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at KBC below the hill, capping off a day of activities.

The Princess and Superhero event is set for Friday, Aug. 28, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Riverside Park. While it’s not a contest, all ages of kids can get into their superhero or princess groove to enjoy some fun.

“The little girls come and they wear their cute dresses and the little boys wear their super hero costumes, then there are games and prizes and all kinds of stuff,” DeWeese says. “It’s just a fun event.”

On Saturday, Aug. 29, a cornhole tourney will be held at Tower Park, with registration beginning at 4 p.m. and play getting underway at 4:30 p.m.

The band Rock Bottom Boys of Madison County will play at Tower Park from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. Then fireworks will light up the sky at Tower Park beginning at dusk.

On Sunday, Aug. 30, Miss Warren, Grace Dunmoyer, will be introduced along with Junior Miss Warren, Nora McDaniel and her sister, Little Miss Warren, Ella Rose McDaniel at 5 p.m. at Riverside Park.

After the introduction, a community worship service with “A Few Good Men” will follow, sponsored by the Warren Area Ministerial Association.

Some food vendors will be set up at the park and also at the car, truck and bike show, DeWeese says.

DeWeese says during the festival events, those who participate need to “be responsible.”

“If you need to wear a mask, wear a mask,” she says, adding events such as the corn hole tourney and Family Feud may require participants to wear them if they cannot be socially distant.

The Knight Bergman Center is located at 132 S. Nancy St. in Warren.

Riverside Park is located on Ind.-218, at the corner of 1st and Main streets. Tower Park is located at the intersection of Grover Street and Washington Street.