DUKE CENTER — The 27th Annual Otto Township Old Home Days will be held this coming weekend Friday through Sunday at the Otto Community Park.
Old Home Days committee member Mat Coast explained, “We will once again have a wide variety of food, games, entertainers, and craft vendors at this year’s event. The Old Home Days Committee will have their famous sausage sandwiches and strawberry shortcakes. Fox’s Pizza of Eldred will be making their return this year. Food will also be available from Knapp Creek VFD, Eldred Township VFD, and many more.”
Events will include dance demos, fair queens, magicians and of course everyone’s favorite part, the Otto Township Old Home Days famous fireworks display. The fireworks are scheduled at dusk on Saturday. Dark Water Duo will perform before and after the firework display.
“What better way to finish a great weekend of family fun. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — the area’s best fireworks display in July is right here in Otto Township,” Coast said. “It’s something that thousands of people from here and afar look forward to every year. A huge thank you to the men and women behind the scenes that make this show the spectacle that it is.”
Things will kick off this Friday at 4 p.m. with a steak bake hosted by the Otto Township Volunteer Fire Department. Events, shows and a large variety of vendors will continue throughout the weekend and finish up on Sunday with a chicken barbeque. Both the steak bake and chicken barbeque will be held at the fire department.
Carnival rides will be provided by American Amusements on Friday at 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. Wristbands and individual tickets for rides will be for sale at the information tent.
A car show hosted by the Street Dreams Car Club will kick off Saturday’s events. The show will consist of classic cars, street rods, and special interest vehicles, motorcycles and all antique vehicles. Registration for the car show will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. behind the Otto-Eldred High School. The cost to enter a vehicle in car show is $12 and each entry will receive a free t-shirt. Trophies will be awarded as close to 3:30 p.m. as possible. DJ Scottie will be spinning tunes for the car show again this year. More information is available by emailing Gary Hoy at garyhoy@gmail.com.
Line the street of Main Street in Duke Center Saturday for the annual parade that leads everyone to all the action in the Otto Park. The parade will start at 11 a.m. Immediately following the parade the gates will open to the park. Cost of entry for Saturday is $2 per person. All gate proceeds go directly to firework fund. If you would like to be a part of the parade, contact Nickole at nickole.crandell@gmail.com.
The tractor pulls will return and be held on Saturday and registration is being handled by contacting the Southern Tier Mini Tractor Pullers.
Also on Saturday, will be the 7th Annual Red-Neck Olympics with returning champions Nate Booth and Mat Coast. The games will be tournament style of three popular backyard games: ladder golf, washers and corn hole. Cost is $30 per two-person team. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three teams. Pre-registration for this event is encouraged. The event has already filled 28 of 32 available spots. Teams can contact Mat at Coast800@gamil.com for registration availability.
The Old Home Days will feature a various array bands for entertainment. Friday evening will feature two bands from the region, the Hard Luck Rangers from 7 to 9 p.m. followed by We Speak Canadian 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. Admission on Friday night will be $3.00 per person or $5.00 per family. Saturday’s evening band entertainment lineup includes Dave Morris, Fat Lip, Counterfeit and Dark Water Duo.
The Old Home Day committee reminds everyone that no bikes, all-terrain vehicles, pets, or glass bottles may be brought into the park during this event.
More information on the event is available on the Facebook site, Otto Township Old Home Dayswww.facebook.com/otohd.
