The Pickerington Violet Festival has picked up some new activities heading into its 18th year, and kids are the big beneficiaries.
Among the additions to the festival schedule are a Kids’ Fun Run and a puppet show.
The festival runs July 24-27 at Victory Park.
A partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital facilitated the addition of new events to this year’s festival, and the festival board knew right away those new events would be youth-focused, says Violet Festival President Dan Heitmeyer.
Beginning on the first day of the festival and running several times each day is Granpa Cratchet’s General Store, a show by puppetmaster Sam Bowman. The show is new to the festival, but it’s been in existence since Bowman began using puppets to teach at his church in Sharpsville, Ind. in 1975 and has been touring since the 1980s.
Bowman takes on the role of eight different puppets in his one-man production, a 30-minute show of slapstick comedy that ends with an important lesson. This year, Granpa Cratchet, the main character of the show, will teach about the Golden Rule.
Children are invited to participate and can shake hands with Granpa Cratchet at the end of the show. Though the performance is aimed at children ages 5-12 years old, Bowman believes the whole family will appreciate the show.
“We mix things in for the adults, so everyone enjoys it,” Bowman says.
The Kids’ Fun Run is an outgrowth of the Diley Ridge Downtown Dash, a 5K run through neighborhoods near Victory Park on the Saturday of the festival, intended to offer an activity for those who might not be able to complete a full 5K. Parents may run alongside their children or cheer them on from the sidelines.
Beyond the new activities is the full complement of old ones – the karaoke contest on Wednesday night, the parade on Friday night, the AAA Ohio Auto Club Car & Bike Show on Saturday and two big concerts: country music superstar Jo Dee Messina (“Stand Beside Me”) on Friday and rock band Survivor (“Eye of the Tiger”) on Saturday. That’s in addition to carnival rides, food, vendors, a business showcase, a beer garden and more.
Morgan Montgomery is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
