By Paul Garrod
Staff Writer
news4garrod@gmail.com
LAWRENCE – The Lawrence Ox Roast & Homecoming festival on Labor Day weekend, Aug. 29 – Sept. 1, will see fireworks and more to celebrate a century-plus tradition, while marking the annual event.
The event began on Labor Day, 1921, as Lawrence area businessmen put on a one-day event featuring music, a parade, baseball games and more, including “5,000 free ox roast sandwiches.” The event continued through the years, briefly stopping during World War II. It then returned during the 1950s and 1960s, ending before the close of the latter decade. It was revived in 1985 as a three-day event to mark the village’s sesquicentennial.
The event officially gets underway Friday night, Aug. 29, at 6 p.m. with a community dance at the Lawrence Village Park main pavilion. At dusk, a “Glow n Go” mini parade will step off on St. Joseph Street.
The annual Watermelon Run will kick off Saturday events beginning at 8 a.m. on the grounds of the Van Buren Conference Center. A pancake breakfast will be held at the Lawrence Township Community Services Building from 8 a.m. to 11a.m. Also, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., a Farmers Market will be held in Lawrence Village Park.
Other events scheduled for Saturday include a 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament at 9 a.m., cardio drumming at 10 a.m. at the village park main pavilion. The Lawrence Community Branch Library book sale will take place at the Old Town Hall, downtown, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., then again on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Labor Day, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A craft show will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday on Elizabeth Street. Also planned is Chalk the Walk, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Lawrence Branch Library.
A Big Rig Show will be held from 12:30 to 3 p.m. on St. Joseph Street, with registration getting underway at 11 a.m.
Ventriloquist Brynn Cummings will perform at 1 p.m.in the village park main pavilion
A wide variety of music will get underway Saturday afternoon in the Lawrence Village Park main pavilion, with Chick & the Boomers beginning at 3 p.m., and The Kennedy Affair, a blues band, performing from 6 to 9 p.m.
The Lawrence Alumni Banquet will be held at 6 p.m. at the Van Buren Conference Center. A ticket is required for that event.
At dusk, a lighted truck parade will be held and will travel down St. Joseph Street.
On Sunday, a breakfast will be held from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Lawrence American Legion Hall. At 9 a.m. a church service will be held at the Lawrence Village Park main pavilion. A car show will begin at 11 a.m., with registration from 9 to 11 a.m. Pedal Pull registration will get underway at noon, with a 1 p.m. start. A volleyball tournament will get underway at 4 p.m. in the village park. Bingo will be held from noon to 6 at the village park east pavilion.
At dusk, a fireworks show will be held on the grounds of Lawrence Public Schools.
Music will get underway on Sunday afternoon with Seventh Son performing at noon in the village park main pavilion. Two Dollar Bills at 2 p.m., Vineyard Chicks at 4 p.m., and The Black River Band will wrap up the day’s music from 6 to 9 p.m.in the village park main pavilion.
On Monday, Labor Day, the Ox Roast & Homecoming Parade will step off at 11 a.m., followed by music by Luke Lenhart and The Green Valley Boys at noon at the village park main pavilion. At noon, the Lawrence United Methodist Church will hold a chicken dinner at the church. At 1 p.m., free Ox Roast sandwiches will be given out at the Lawrence American Legion Hall.
The festival concludes at 2 p.m. with raffle drawings held at the village park main pavilion.
