75th annual Bakersville Homecoming is Aug. 8-11
The 75th annual Bakersville Homecoming will be held Thursday, Aug. 8 – Sunday, Aug. 11. Every day has something fun planned for the whole family. This year, there will be special events to honor and remember Austin Yoder, a young man who lost his life last year in a farm accident.
The homecoming will begin with the royalty crowning event that will begin at 7 p.m. Aug 8. A king and queen will be named. There is also a senior queen, princess, mini-miss and little tractors contest that evening. Food and refreshments will be available.
At 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug 9, an antique tractor pull will be held. There will be two tracks and 67 classes in five divisions and six farm stock classes. For information, call Larry Stahl at 740-294-4930. The chicken BBQ will begin at 4 p.m. and the meal includes a chicken half, two sides, dessert and choice of drink (pop is extra) for $14. From 5-8 p.m., Wacky’s Country Experience will be at the homecoming. At 7 p.m., Stahl will be presenting a program at the arena, followed by the introduction of the Bakersville Homecoming Royalty and visiting royalty.
Saturday morning Aug. 10 will begin with breakfast from 8-11 a.m. At 9:30 a.m., the dead weight tractor pull will begin with 5500#, 7000# and 8500# classes. For questions, please contact Mason Mizer at 330-440-3226. Food will be available from noon to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. The kiddie tractor pull will start at 1 p.m. with registration beginning at 12:30 p.m. From 4:30 – 6 p.m., Chuck Williams will be performing. He is a gospel, country and bluegrass singer/songwriter. OGR Band, a rock band, will take the stage from 6-10 p.m. A foul shot and three-point shooting contest will be held at 7 p.m. with registration starting at 6:30 p.m. Classes are boys 17 and under, men 18 and over, girls 17 and under and women 18 and over. There is a $50 prize for first place.
A community church service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning, Aug. 11, followed by a memorial tractor parade for Yoder beginning at 11:30 a.m. Stahl said, “Austin loved tractors and agriculture, and the community is going to turn out with the tractors, ATVs and farm equipment that Austin loved to run. It will form at Bud Hawk, LLC arena and head north past the Mizer homestead and Evans Creek Church, visiting Austin’s final resting place.”
Stahl also shared that a scholarship in Austin’s memory will be awarded on Thursday evening as part of the royalty contest and that the antique tractor pull on Friday will be dedicated to Austin. “A brief memorial service will be held around 7 p.m. at the Bud Hawk arena. We will also have a tribute to Chuck Cox and Carl Everhart, who both recently passed,” Stahl said.
Food will be available after the parade until 2:30 p.m. At 1 p.m., a dead weight tractor pull will begin with 10,500# – 12,500# classes. A country store and games will be ongoing Friday and Saturday and barrel train rides will be held Saturday.
Category: Arts & Entertainment