With the summer coming to an end, the annual Edgerton fall festival will be held on the traditional second weekend of September.
This year’s Pioneer Days is slated to run from Friday, Sept. 8 to Sunday, Sept. 10. Entertainment scheduled to appear includes The Bill Boswell Band with Bum Williams, Jack Klein and the Missouri Rebels, Ben Johnson (an Elvis Tribute Artist), Under the Old Oak Tree and Teddy and the Bears.
The annual event allows, Edgerton residents and those from surrounding areas to come together to celebrate the community’s history while also having fun. Admission, parking and most of the entertainment are free.
Recent efforts have saved Pioneer Days, but more volunteers are needed moving forward.
A group of concerned citizens came together in 2016, and this year’s Pioneer Days committee is made up of Jordan Keefhaver, Lisa Harmer, Pam Freeman, Myrna Weese, Charlene Cook, and Sheryl Hanks. They continue to look for volunteers to help with fundraising and working the festival to keep the tradition alive.
A fish fry held Friday, Sept. 8 remains one of the festival’s biggest fundraisers with Mary and Lawrence Jackson annually helping put that together. The dinner will be from 5 to 8 p.m. at the American Legion Building.
Cost is $10 per plate.
Also on Friday will be live music with the Bill Boswell Band and Bum Williams from 4 to 6 p.m. plus a car cruise from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Pioneer Pageant for youth will be at 6:30 p.m. following the first music performance.
Jack Klein and the Missouri Rebels will be on the main stage from 8 to 10 p.m.
Saturday will be the busy day starting with a biscuits and gravy breakfast fundraiser at the American Legion building from 7 to 9 a.m. There will also be a bicycle rodeo at the Edgerton fire station from 8 to 9 a.m.
The annual parade starts at 19 a.m. with Harold Smith serving as this year’s grand marshal.
Day-long activities will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be a an apple pie contest judging (3 p.m. on the main stage), a teens-only human sphere race (3 to 4 p.m. at the ball park) and a pie eating contest (5:30 p.m. on the main stage).
Under the Old Oak Tree will be the closing musical act, on stage from 7 to 10 p.m.
Sunday concludes the festivities, starting with a community worship service at 11 a.m. at Edgerton Christian Church. Pioneer Days concludes at 4 p.m.
The Pioneer Days Committee asks anyone interested can contact members of the committee or send an email to edgertonpioneerdays@gmail.com. Vendors or anyone looking to have a booth can also send an email or go online to the event’s website and fill out the application.
“If there is to be a 2018 Pioneer Days Festival, we will need to have several volunteers come forward and form a 2018 committee,” Keefhaver said. “If anyone is interested, they should contact us as soon as possible. It pays to start as early as possible, which would be in October of this year.”