Knox will not be hosting a Harvest Festival this year. That question was raised during Mayor Dennis Estok’s Monday town hall meeting. He says a lot of work goes into the event, and a lot of volunteers are needed to pull it off. Continue reading
Fireworks to Return to Wythogan Park
Knox Mayor Dennis Estok is bringing the city’s July 4th fireworks display back to Wythogan Park. They’ve taken place at the Starke County Airport northwest of Knox for the past several years. Estok wants to bring them back downtown to ensure youngsters are able to attend. His plans call for a parade to kick off the celebration. Continue reading
Harvest Fest Gets Underway in Downtown Knox
Enjoy family-friendly activities, crafts, live music and more during the Harvest Festival in downtown Knox this weekend. Festivities get underway this morning at 10 with an opening prayer and flag raising ceremony, followed by a pet parade. Town-wide yard sales are also taking place. Pick up a map at the Knox Moose Family Center. While you’re downtown, stop by the Starke County Courthouse for a guided tour. Continue reading
Knox City Council Members Discuss Seed Money for Harvest Festival
The Knox City Council members held a lengthy discussion Tuesday night concerning seed money for the 2015 Harvest Festival.
A request for $2,500 was made by Mayor Rick Chambers to front the organization money just to cover initial expenses. The money will be returned once revenue is received.
Harvest Festival to be Revived in 2015
The Harvest Festival in Knox has an organizer for 2015.
Paula Voss approached the Knox City Council last week and offered to take on the popular festival. She noted that it will be held the same weekend as in the past and she’s already in contact with vendors to revive the three-day event in downtown Knox.
“Harvesting Our Future” Event This Weekend
Board member Lora Thompson Hall told WKVI that the event is focused around providing children in the community with a weekend of fun and community awareness.
No Harvest Festival This Year
Bad news for festival-goers: there will be no Harvest Festival in Knox due to the lack of a coordinator. Mayor Rick Chambers explained that they still hope to have a parade and car show as well as a number of other events that weekend, but no formal festival will take place because no one stepped up to take the reins.
In October, Chambers announced that he was looking for a coordinator for the event after he learned the previous coordinator, Michelle Bachtel, would not be able to handle it this year. The event’s coordinator is responsible for putting together events, contacting vendors, lining up entertainment like live bands, getting dumpsters in town, and gathering volunteers to pick up trash, set up and tear down booths, manage the parade, and a variety of other tasks.
Knox Mayor Looking For Next Year’s Harvest Fest Coordinator
With this year’s Harvest Festival in the rear-view for Knox, Mayor Rick Chambers said they are looking for an organization to take the reins for next year. He passed out a financial report for this year’s festival, which turned a profit of only $441.93 – but it’s better than nothing. Chambers explained that in the past the festival has made more than $7000, as the Friends of the Park organization claimed they did in 2007.
Chambers said a number of organizations have taken the helm in the past, including Michelle Bachtel who organized a group of volunteers for this year’s festival, the Chamber of Commerce, and Mark and Lori Smith. For next year, however, Chambers said he has not yet found an organization or volunteer to manage it.
Many Events Planned as Knox Harvest Festival Continues
The Knox Harvest Festival continues today.
There will be many exciting events happening this Saturday at the Knox Harvest Festival. IU Health Starke Hospital, who is the major sponsor of this year’s festival, will host a 5K run with registration at 6:45 a.m. and the race at 8 a.m. Court house tours begin at 9 a.m. today, the Red Cross Blood Drive is at 10 a.m., the Potawatami Zoo Exhibit is at Noon and the annual Harvest Festival Parade will begin at 2 p.m. featuring Grand Marshal Tom Berg. The day’s final major events include a pie eating contest by the main stage, the burnout contest at industrial park, and the pedal tractor pull beginning at four.
Tomorrow, the motorcycle show by O’s Tap and Knox-Center Township Fire Department Car Show registration begin at 9 a.m., courthouse tours resume at 10 a.m., and the festival’s last major events will start at 1 p.m. including revolution wrestling, duck races, and a pet parade.
Knox Harvest Festival Kicks Off Today
The Knox Harvest Festival begins today!
Opening ceremonies are at 3:30 p.m. in the downtown area and the food and craft vendors open at 4 p.m. Enjoy music from Nightshift at 4 p.m. and 30 South at 7 p.m.
Other highlights for this year’s festival include the Courthouse Tours beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, the Potowatami Zoo exhibit, and the parade Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., featuring Tom Berg as the Grand Marshal.
Music is scheduled throughout the weekend along with several contests. The BMX competition is set for Saturday and Sunday and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department burnout contest is Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Industrial Park. The fire department will also hold a car show on Sunday at noon at the corner of Lake and Pearl Streets.
Harvest Festival This Weekend; Many Events Planned
There are a lot of great events scheduled during this weekend’s Harvest Festival in Knox, including a Burnout Contest sponsored by the Knox-Center Township Fire Department on Saturday.
The Burnout Contest will be held in the Knox Industrial Park with registration from 4–4:45 p.m. CT and the show at 5 p.m. The registration fee is $15. Awards will be given to the cars with the best smoke, best sound, best crowd pleaser and best total destruction.
The admission fee is $5 per vehicle.
The Fire Department will also sponsor a car show on Sunday at the corner of Pearl and Lake Streets. The show will be from noon to 3 p.m. CT and dash plaques will be given to the first 25 cars registered for the show. Registration is a $10 donation.
Harvest Fest to Be Moved From Devastated Wythogan Park
Park crews continue to clean up after last week’s storms that caused damage to Wythogan Park as well as the Starke County Airport, the Starke County Courthouse, and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department dispatch tower.
There is such destruction at the park that Knox Park Board President Kurt Snearly says the Harvest Fest will need to be moved elsewhere.
“We met with the Harvest Festival Committee Chairman, Michelle Bechtel, and she had as much concern about holding it in the park as we did,” explained Snearly. “Due to safety concerns, we’re just not so sure we can even have it at the park.”
Knox Harvest Days Committee to Meet Tonight
The Knox Harvest Days Committee will be meeting tonight at the H&R Block office in the Knox Mall. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. CT and anyone willing to help with the August Festival is encouraged to attend. Michelle Bachtel is in charge of the festival this year and says she would like to take it into Wythogan Park this year.
