By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowwel.com
The lawn chairs are already lining Sandusky Avenue so you know it’s time to get ready for the ‘wurst – the 2016 Bratwurst Festival, that is.
“People probably don’t realize that we start the day after the Bratwurst Festival ends for the next year,” explained Bratwurst Festival Director Larry West. “Change is the name of the game this year. There’s lots of changes going on out there.”
One of the biggest changes is the headliner for Friday night’s free concert hosted by FCBank. Country music artist James Otto has replaced Claire Dunn as the headliner, but The Eric Sowers Band will still be the opening act. The Eric Sowers Band will take the FCBank Stage, located in the bank’s parking lot at 105 Washington Square, beginning at 8 p.m. with Otto following at 9:30.
The Family Fun Zone, in its fourth year, will be debuting newer and bigger things.
“We’ve been trying to tweak it over the years, make it a fun place for families to be,” West said. “If you go online . . . you will see that the lineup is just loaded for that area.”
Some of the highlights at the Family Fun Zone will be a Crawford Park District program on Thursday, the Honey Hill petting zoo on Friday, and a climbing wall and inflatable slide on Saturday. The area will also feature water balloon tosses, arts and crafts, hoop shoot contest, mini motor races, and the Bucyrus Public Library activity booth.
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West said vendors used to set up north of the railroad tracks in Bratwurst Festivals past, but that has not recently been the case – until this year. The entire north end of Sandusky Avenue, north of the tracks, will consist entirely of food and other types of vendors you typically see along the street.
The art show has moved back to Bucyrus City Hall and most of the crafters will also be stationed on the south end of Sandusky Avenue in the north City Hall parking lot, though some will remain in the downtown area.
“You know the theme this year – ‘If you mustache, Brattie is 49!’” West said. “The big 5-0 is next year. We figured that was a good way to get the idea out that next year is the big 5-0 and have some fun with it.”
The Bratwurst Festival opens at noon and closes at 11 p.m. all three days. The parades will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 4 p.m. on Saturday. A complete list of entertainment at all three festival stages is shown below.
Thursday
AEP Energy Stage
12:00 Opening Ceremonies
1:00 Bratwurst Eating Contest
2:00 Pigtail Contest
3:00 Ice Cream Eating Contest
4:00 Pretty Baby Contest
5:30 Jr. Princess Pageant
7:00 Parade Begins
8:00 Queen’s Pageant
11:00 Festival Closed
German Heritage Center
2:00 Ken and Mary
3:00 Mike and Larry
4:00 Richard Wiener
5:00 Ken and Mary
8:00 Living the Dream
Friday
AEP Energy Stage
12:00 Bucyrus City Band
1:00 Pizza Eating Contest
3:00 Crème Puff Eating Contest
5:00 Get in Line – Line Dancers
8:00 John Kennedy Band
German Heritage Center
1:00 Ken and Mary
2:00 Mike and Larry
3:00 Richard Wiener
4:00 Ken and Mary
FCBank Stage
8:00 The Eric Sowers Band
9:30 James Otto
Saturday
AEP Energy Stage
12:00 New Washington Band
6:00 Parade awards, Stein Auction
7:00 Men’s Legs Contest
8:00 Mustache and Beard Contest
9:00 Julia Neville Band
German Heritage Stage
12:00 Ken and Mary
1:00 Mike and Larry
2:00 Ken and Mary
3:00 Richard Weiner
FCBank Stage
1:30 The Ohio State Alumni Band
7:30 Jessica Hannan Band
9:30 7 Bridges: The Ultimate EAGLES Experience
The entire Bratwurst Festival event schedule can be found here.