VERSAILLES — The village of Versailles will celebrate its bicentennial on Saturday, Sept. 14, at Heritage Park for a day of fun and festivities. The day will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the grand opening of the newly constructed amphitheater followed by the Versailles High School Band’s first performance at the venue and a Bicentennial Commemoration.
The high school band will be the first of 10 musical performances throughout the day on two stages. The day will be full of entertainment and ends when Brother Believe Me finishes their performance at 11 p.m. This event isn’t limited to Versailles residents. Friends, family and neighbors are invited and welcome to spend the day in Versailles.
The festival will offer the largest number of musicians and widest variety of musical styles ever offered in Versailles on a single day. Artists will include the Versailles Community Band, Taylor Westerheide & Bryant Ahrens, Danny Schneible, The DeMange Brothers with special guest Jocelyn. Headliners include appearances by the United States Air Force Band of Flight at 2 p.m., legendary Bushwack at 3:30, Buzz Ford and the American Kings at 5:30, Nine Mile Creek at 7:30 and Brother Believe Me at 8.
Family friendly, the day will offer Amusement Rides and free children’s activities including the Ninja Challenge operated by the Versailles Christian Church and the Fire Fighter Challenge operated by the Versailles Firefighters. There will be a number of displays including historical reenactors, pre-war automobiles and historic fire equipment. The Arcanum Fire Department will conduct a demonstration of their 1885 Ahrens Fox Fire Engine. This “steamer” is Hay Propelled and Steam Powered and a very rare opportunity to see how fires were fought 100 years ago.
The committee has spent considerable time planning a fireworks display to be held at 9pm. Fireworks will be set off by High Tech Special Effects from just south of Heritage Park. High Tech provides fireworks for events across several states as well as concerts and music videos. The display is designed to be best viewed from Heritage Park and is sure to impress. Thank you to our sponsors including the Pohl Transportation, Midmark, Weavers, Village of Versailles, Second National Bank, Poultry Days, Bruns Animal Clinic, Direct Tooling, Versailles S&L, Endless Pint and the Versailles Chamber of Commerce.
Refreshment will be offered by the Versailles Alumni Association which will be serving beverages from Anheuser-Busch, Endless Pint Brewery and The Winery at Versailles. A wide selection of food will be offered by food trucks including: Creme de la Creme Cakery, Wood Fired Pizza, Tin Roof Mobile Food, Kona, Mo’s Mexican and a selection of fair food from Big O Amusements.
Visitors are welcome to bring their lawn chairs, blankets and open sided canopy tents to spend the day at the park. If bringing a canopy tent, contact committee member on arrival for direction. Visitors should not bring carry in alcohol, animals, golf carts or drones. The park has three parking lots in which a number of spots will be reserved for disabled parking.
For more information follow Versailles Bicentennial or Poultry Days on Facebook or email [email protected].
