Montgomery is getting ready for its annual summer festival set to begin Friday.
Montgomery Fest will be held at Montgomery Park at the corner of River Drive and Mill Street in Montgomery from Friday through Sunday, Aug 15-17.
The event will include entertainment, a carnival, food vendors, a beer tent, a parade, car show, a fishing derby and more. The fest will conclude with fireworks Sunday evening.
Friday’s activities will begin at 4:30 p.m. with the Ballet Folklorico Yetlanezi dance group on stage. At 5:30 p.m. there be a welcome ceremony and a presentation of colors by the Montgomery-Countryside Fire District Honor Guard.
Then, Soul Sacrifice will take to the stage, followed by Sonora Dinamita to close out the night.
Saturday’s events begin at 10 a,m., with the popular “chalk with a cop” event.
Also, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., a car show will be operating at Austin Park, a block away from the main festival area.
The fest’s Craft Fair and Market will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the parking lot at VFW Post 7452 at 121 N. River St., across from Village Hall and one block south of the fest grounds.
Entertainment on the main stage on Saturday will include the Simply Destinee Dance group at 10 a.m., Stephanie’s Academy of Dance at 10:45 a.m., Mr. Freez of Fermilab with a live science demonstration at 11:30 a.m., family trivia in the park at 12:30 p.m., The Throwbacks performing from 3 to 5 p.m., Planet Groove on stage from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and 52nd St., The Music of Billy Joel ending the evening from 8 to 10 p.m.
On Sunday, the carp fishing derby will begin at 6 a.m. Contestants may register onsite the day of the event. The carp must be caught in the Fox River between the Ashland Bridge and the Route 30 Bridge in Montgomery, organizers said. All carp must be alive at the time of the weigh-ins at the judge’s table near the Mill Street Bridge.
The annual Montgomery Fest Parade will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday at Main and Mill streets.
Entertainment on Sunday begins with Good Clean Fun on the main stage at 10:30 a.m., then Evil Burrito at 2 p,m., Kovacs & Company at 4 p.m. and then Semple will take to the main stage at 7 p.m.
Fireworks will signal the end of the festival at 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Complimentary shuttle bus service will be provided to the fest in downtown Montgomery on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from two locations: Lakewood Creek Elementary School, 2301 Lakewood Creek Drive, and Blains Farm & Fleet, 400 Route 30. Shuttle buses will run every half hour on Friday from 5 to 10 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Limited parking for the fest will be available on the streets and in the Lyon Metal parking lot at 421 N. Main St., just off the festival grounds, organizers said.
For more information on the festival, go to https://www.montgomeryil.org/186/Montgomery-Fest.
Judy Pochel is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.