JACKSON CENTER — After a year of canceled events, the Jackson Center Community Days festival is coming back bigger and better than ever.
“We’re thankful that our group decided to have (Community Days) and that the conditions are going to allow it, and we’re excited that we’re going to be the first ones in the area to try to take a step back toward the return to normalcy,” Jackson Center Growth Association President Greg Woolley said.
On May 12, Gov. Mike DeWine announced that on June 2, all health orders would be repealed, except for those in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The timing couldn’t be more perfect for Community Days, which will kick off on Thursday, June 3, and run through Sunday, June 6.
According to Woolley, the Community Days Committee had several contingency plans in place while laying out the groundwork for the 2021 event, as the outlook on the pandemic in June wasn’t something they could predict and they wanted to be able to hold the festival in some capacity.
“We went back and forth quite a few times on whether we should have it, and we finally decided that we felt like the community needed to do something, so we decided to have it. Now that the restrictions are being dropped, I don’t think the timing couldn’t be more perfect for us. Our theme is ‘Bringing the Community Back Together’ so I think that was appropriate,” Woolley said. “We came up with that because it felt like COVID had separated us in so many ways, both physically and socially, and this is going to be an opportunity for people to come back together.”
The full-scale Community Days features more amusement rides this year, as well as more than $5,000 in prizes available through the raffle. Raffle tickets can be purchased at local businesses in the Jackson Center community and at the festival, and cost is $5 per six tickets.
There will also be a Tiger Trot 5K and 1 mile Fun Run, a Kiddie Tractor Pull, a Carnivore Dodgeball Tournament, the Car, Bike & Truck Show, and a parade. Live entertainment will be featured throughout the festival, and food and drink will be available.
“It’ll be relatively normal — live bands for entertainment, plenty of refreshments for people, local food trucks and fair food concessions as well. We’re trying to have a nice, big comeback,” Woolley said.
Woolley added that Community Days, as a whole, is about uniting together as a community, which is what makes the 2021 Community Days festival so special.
“This one especially is special just because of the ability to be together for the first time and see friends and neighbors you haven’t seen in a while because of the social distance and the physical distance we’ve been having to try to follow. We’re hoping everyone is as excited as we are to come out and share in the celebration,” Woolley said.
For more information or to register for the parade, visit https://jacksoncenter.com/eventsforms/community-events/community-days.
