Homecoming to pay tribute to coal miners
Josey Lillibridge was crowned queen of the 2015 West Lafayette Homecoming Festival. This year’s queen competition will be Thursday, July 28 at 6 p.m. in Burt Park. File Photo | Beacon
WEST LAFAYETTE – The 69th annual West Lafayette Homecoming will be Thursday, July 28 through Saturday, July 30 and will pay special tribute to Coshocton County coal miners with the theme, “Coal is King”.
“Sam Bennett came to a chamber meeting and talked about the coal miner memorial and someone said, that would make a great theme for homecoming,” said Oren Griffith, chamber president and member of the homecoming festival committee.
To honor those miners who have passed away, there will be a poster in the chamber headquarters with names of all the coal miners.
“I didn’t realize there were that many coal miners in Coshocton, but there’s a big list,” said Griffith. “We’ve had a lot of people call in and add a name to the list, so hopefully we didn’t miss anyone.”
The festival will also honor coal miners by allowing people to donate items to the merchandise drawing giveaway in honor of a coal miner. The master of ceremonies in the parade will also be a miner.
Friday from 5 – 9 p.m., the Coshocton Genealogy Society will be selling miner and cemetery books, and Saturday, an Ohio author will be selling books on coal miners of Ohio.
Griffith said there will be a lot more vendors at the festival this year and that the entertainment lineup promises to have something for residents of all ages.
“The area businesses have been very supportive of us,” said Griffith. “We send out letters to businesses at the beginning of the year to help sponsor the entertainment and the response is always great. If it wasn’t for them, we couldn’t afford the entertainment.”
Each year after the homecoming, the chamber begins searching for the entertainment for next year’s homecoming event. Griffith said it is a year-long search.
One new event this year will be a balloon pop for the kids. Kids can purchase a balloon, pop it, and each balloon will have a number inside that will correspond with the number on a prize.
“That way, every kid gets a prize,” said Griffith.
Griffith said one reason the festival is so popular is because the activities cater to all different age groups.
“It’s a good time for people to have fun,” said Griffith. “We try to have something for kids all the way up to older people. There are people I only see once a year, and that’s at the homecoming festival.”
Category: Arts & Entertainment
