VERSAILLES – Versailles will celebrate the 67th annual Poultry Days festival Friday through Sunday with a theme of “Poultry Going Platinum,” which recognizes the sale of the 1 millionth dinner.
The purchaser of this special dinner will receive gifts including a voucher toward a trip for two to Las Vegas sponsored by Zechar Bailey and a one-year supply of Mike-Sells potato chips. Last year the festival set an all-time record of 27,620 and this year the board plans to have at least 28,500 dinners on the grounds. Sales begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday, 11:30 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. The festival also will offer guests’ favorite festival foods.
Jim and Diana Subler have been selected as honorary grand parade marshals, which will held at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The festival also will offer the antique car parade, which will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. By popular demand the antique car display will remain on South Center Street and will begin at 10 a.m. Due to street construction the antique car parade will follow the same route as the grand parade. Pre-registration is required for the grand parade while registration for the antique car parade and display will begin at 10 a.m. at the corner of South West and Virginia streets. The festival also will offer an antique tractor display on the grounds.
The board continues to improve the festival and additional changes have been made to provide the variety festival goers expect. This year the social tent takes things to another level with 10 live musical acts representing several musical styles. From Saw Creek (Friday) and the MicStand Band’s country, to Empty Tank (Sunday) and Eight Ball’s rock, to solo acoustic, and the “under the streetlight” music of the ’60s and ’70s of the Quintessentials (Saturday). This year Tricky Dick & The Cover-Ups (Friday) will travel from Cleveland to perform. Tricky Dick is one of the top party bands in the state and brings its own style of high energy rock funk.
Versailles was the first in the area to shut down the highway and have a party and the tradition continues with the largest festival in the area. The social tent holds more than 2,000 people with plenty of seating outside the tent for those who want to enjoy the sunshine. New for this year Poultry Days will offer a “video wall,” which will allow festival goers to watch the bands while outside of the tent. The Winery at Versailles will be back providing a wide selection, and new for this year frozen slushies to cool guests off. The social tent is sponsored by MillerCoors, which along with The Winery and Anheuser-Busch will provide more than 35 beverage choices. New for this year locally brewed craft beer will be available from Moeller Brew Barn of Maria Stein.
Poultry Days offers plenty of activities for the whole family and a great value for a weekend of family fun. All day ride wrist bands are available for the entire weekend. Other activities include an art and photography show, a cornhole tournament, carnival rides, games, free kiddie tractor pulls, flower show, K of C bingo, pony rides, displays, cake and egg decorating contest, Rage and Rocko the Safety Dogs, Bear Hollow Wood Carvers, Worch Library talent show and the Miss Chick and Little Miss Poultry Days pageants. YOLO has organized the largest 5K run/walk in the county for Saturday with registration extending to the morning of the event. The festival will also host more than 70 vendors.
To showcase agriculture, the Versailles FFA will offer an agriculture awareness and promotion tent on Saturday and Sunday. Activities inside the tent will include hands-on crafts related to agriculture, milking cow simulator, petting zoo, tractor simulator, hatching of eggs, and free promotional materials.
The granddaddy of Ultimate Frisbee tournaments returns to Versailles with more than 2,000 players from through the county. This tournament is on The Ultimate Bucket List, Top Field Tournaments in the World. The other locations are Bangkok, Thailand; Budapest, Hungary; Fuji City, Japan; Waimanalo, Hawaii; Grenoble, France; Redmond, Washington; Croatia; Medellin, Columbia; Dallas, Texas, Amsterdam and the World Games.
For details and the full festival schedule go to www.versaillespoultrydays.com.
