VERSAILLES – Join the village of Versailles to celebrate their bicentennial on Saturday, Sept. 14 at Heritage Park where there will be a day of fun and festivities. The day begins at 11:30 a.m. with the grand opening of the newly constructed amphitheater followed by the Versailles High School Band’s first performance at the venue and a Bicentennial Commemoration.
The high school band will be the first of 10 musical performances throughout the day on two stages. The day will be full of entertainment and ends when Brother Believe Me finishes their performance at 11 p.m. This event is open to everyone.
The festival will offer the largest number of musicians and widest variety of musical styles ever offered in Versailles on a single day. Artists will include the Versailles Community Band, Taylor Westerheide & Bryant Ahrens, Danny Schneible, The DeMange Brothers with special guest Jocelyn. Headliners include appearances by the United States Air Force Band of Flight at 2 p.m., legendary Bushwack at 3:30 p.m., Buzz Ford and the American Kings at 5:30 p.m., Nine Mile Creek at 7:30 p.m. and Brother Believe Me at 8 p.m.
Amusement rides will also be offered and free children’s activities, including the Ninja Challenge operated by the Versailles Christian Church and the Firefighter Challenge operated by the Versailles Firefighters. There will be a number of displays including historical reenactors, pre-war automobiles and historic fire equipment. The Arcanum Fire Department will conduct a demonstration of their 1885 Ahrens Fox Fire Engine. This “steamer” is Hay Propelled and Steam Powered and this is a rare opportunity to see how fires were fought 100 years ago.
The committee has spent considerable time planning a fireworks display to be held at 9 p.m. Fireworks will be set off by High Tech Special Effects from just south of Heritage Park. The display is designed to be best viewed from Heritage Park. Sponsors included Pohl Transportation, Midmark, Weavers, Village of Versailles, Second National Bank, Poultry Days, Bruns Animal Clinic, Direct Tooling, Versailles S&L, Endless Pint and the Versailles Chamber of Commerce.
Refreshment will be offered by the Versailles Alumni Association, which will be serving beverages from Anheuser-Busch, Endless Pint Brewery and The Winery at Versailles. A wide selection of food will be offered by food trucks including: Creme de la Creme Cakery, Wood Fired Pizza, Tin Roof Mobile Food, Kona, Mo’s Mexican and a selection of fair food from Big O Amusements.
Visitors are welcome to bring their lawn chairs, blankets and open sided canopy tents to spend the day at the park. If bringing a canopy tent, contact a committee member on arrival for direction. They ask that visitors don’t carry-in alcohol, animals, golf carts or drones. The park has three parking lots and spots will be reserved for disabled parking. For more information, follow Versailles Bicentennial or Poultry Days on Facebook or email [email protected].