The City of Weston will kick off its newest event in early June with the first Ben Holladay Festival.
The Weston Chamber of Commerce is seeking entries for the first Holladay Festival parade, to be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 5 on Main Street. The event also features a beard contest, stagecoaches and buffalo soldiers, local food vendors and live music, as well as games and a dance.
Holladay, born in Kentucky, was known as the “Stagecoach King” and created the overland stagecoach route to California during the 1849 gold rush. During his years in Weston, Holladay worked as a store clerk, Weston’s first postmaster, owned and operated several businesses and helped found what is now known as the McCormick Distilling Company.
The event coincides with the Weston Missouri Bicentennial Fun Run, benefitting the Weston Rotary food pantry, which kicks off at 8 a.m. at Weston City Hall.
Also at city hall, the Lewis and Clark Museum will be open, offering another insight into Weston’s history, from the decades before Holladay lived in the city.
The Lewis and Clark expedition passed through the Weston area in 1804, heading to the Pacific Ocean. History records that the expedition stayed in the area of city hall overnight and cut down a sycamore tree to replace a mast on one of their boats. A Lewis and Clark trail interpreter is scheduled to be available at the museum from 9 a.m. to noon to share information on the expedition.