Zoar Mosquito Fest celebrates 50th year
The 50th Zoar Mosquito Fest gets underway at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 5.
For 50 years, the people of the Zoar United Methodist Church have put on this family-oriented event as an outreach to the community and a way to celebrate the fun of summer with great food, old-fashioned games and activities, music, and fellowship.
Some of the proceeds from the weekend will benefit local charities, Dubois County CASA and the area food banks.
Lots of food will be available all weekend, with burgers, fish, and corndogs served both days. To celebrate the 50th year, footlong hot dogs, which were served at the first Fest, will be sold on a limited basis. Barbecue and fried chicken dinners will be on the menu for Friday night. Again this year, grilled pork chop dinners will be Saturday night’s fare. Serving for the pork chop dinners will start at 4:00. The very popular homemade ice cream stand will feature at least 15 different flavors.
The country store, in the historic one-room schoolhouse which sits on the church grounds, will sell homemade goodies and produce all weekend, with proceeds going to the restoration project for the schoolhouse currently underway. A timeline of the past 50 years and pictures of people and events will be on display in the schoolhouse, as well.
The Southern Indiana Wiffleball Classic opens on Friday evening and will be played throughout the weekend. For more information about the wiffleball tourney, call 812-661-2243.
Another event from 1973 to be brought back is a fishpond for the kids. It will operate from 6:00 to 7:00 on Friday. Friday night’s musical entertainment, beginning at 6:30 pm., features the Hagedorn Family Band.
The Family Color Fun Run will return this year with a few new elements. Online sign-ups are available with a link on our Facebook page or call or text 812-779-7787 or 812-661-2243 for more information.
On Saturday, the quilt show, flower show, and farm and garden produce shows, will be held in the air-conditioned church basement. Entries will be accepted from 10:00 to 12:00. For more information on the quilt show, call 812-536-5262. For more information on the flower or produce contests, call 812-536-2635.
This year, in celebration of a half-century, the stationary parade, held at 1:00 on Saturday, will be “un”-stationary. The parade will actually move a short distance. Grand marshals for the parade will be members of the committee which planned the very first Fest.
A box float parade will also be a part of the fun but will remain at the grove area where the moving parade will end up. Entrants are asked to use their imagination and decorate a large box any way they’d like as a miniature float for the parade. The box can be worn, carried, or just set on the ground. A trophy will be awarded for the best box float.
Saturday afternoon will be lots of fun for kids of all ages with games such as egg toss and balloon toss, sack and three-legged races, and the popular pedal tractor pull, which begins at 4:00. Flea and craft market stands will be open. Information for those can be obtained by contacting Katie at 812-549-9348. Snow cones will be available during the afternoon and a clown will entertain. More throwbacks to the original Mosquito Fest. A scavenger hunt will run throughout the day, as well, with participants searching for pictures of Mosquito Fest events through the years.
At 4:30, Seth Thomas will perform country music. Then, as the wiffleball tourney wraps up and winners are crowned on Saturday evening, the gospel music group, Cumberland Thunder, will begin their concert at 6:30 p.m.
The brand-new family fellowship center and the shady picnic grove will be the site of most of the activities.
Zoar United Methodist Church is located at 8818 W. Old Road 64, Holland. For more information about any of the Mosquito Fest events, check out the Zoar Mosquito Fest Facebook page.
