Eureka Days is back.
But the three-day festival, which wasn’t held last year due to the pandemic, is in a different time slot.
This year’s event will be held Oct. 1-3. It had traditionally been held in September.
Eureka recreation coordinator Lizzie Roberds said she is looking forward to the three-day event being held later in the year and incorporating Eureka Days into the city’s Scarecrow Festival.
The Scarecrow Festival is a month-long event held every October in Eureka. The festival features hundreds of scarecrows set up around the city and a host of weekend events throughout the month.
“I am very excited just to see everybody together. I am very excited to see this event back,” she said. “I am looking forward to seeing how it works, especially weatherwise in October, and bringing it into part of the Scarecrow Festival and bringing a fall festival feel to it.
“We should be out of the tail end of hurricane season and all that, so I am
really hoping that it doesn’t rain.”
Friday
Eureka Days starts at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, with the opening of a beer garden, the food vendors and carnival rides.
The beer garden will be set up in Legion Park, and the carnival rides will be positioned on the parking lot in front of the William “Bud” F. Weber Community Center, both at 333 Bald Hill Road.
The food vendors will be in Lions Park, 340 Bald Hill Road.
The opening night of the festival will feature performances by the Spectrum Band, which is scheduled to play from 6-10 p.m. on the main stage in Legion Park.
“They play a lot of party music,” Roberds said. “They play some jazz music, but it’s a lot of get-up-and-dance music.”
The musical lineup also will feature Antonio Sanders singing the National Anthem at 7 p.m. Sanders works for the Parks and Recreation Department, and he is a Eureka High School graduate.
The first evening also will feature a broadcast of Eureka High’s football game against Ritenour High School, which kicks off at 7 p.m. The game against the Huskies is the Wildcats’ homecoming contest, and the high school will be observing Homecoming Week in the days leading into Eureka Days.
Roberds said people at the festival will be able to hear the game at the beer garden.
Shuttles to and from the fairgrounds will run from 7 p.m. to midnight from Blevins Elementary, 25 E. North St.; The River Church, 215 N. Central Ave.; and Legends Corporate Shopping Center, 98 The Legends Parkway.
Saturday
The Eureka Days Parade kicks off the day at 11 a.m. with a new route.
The parade will begin at Third Street and proceed down Central Avenue before finishing at what is commonly referred to as the Spur, 394 S. Central Ave. In the past, the parade has turned off Central Avenue and onto Dreyer Avenue before turning onto Bald Hill Road and concluding when participants reach the event’s grounds.
“We are trying something new,” she said. “For Saturday afternoon, we are kind of keeping people on Central and Dreyer.”
A fall festival will be held from 1-5 p.m. on Central Avenue. The festival will feature live music and a car show.
Roberds said it costs $10 to enter the car show, and participants can sign up for the event at eurekadays.com.
On Dreyer Avenue, air-brushed tattoos will be available and a magician will perform from 1-5 p.m. The street also will be the site of the third annual chicken wing eating contest, set to start at 3 p.m.
The beer garden will be open from 5-10:30 p.m., and food vendors will operate from 5-11 p.m.
The Charles Glenn Group is scheduled to perform from 7-10:30 p.m. on the main stage in Legion Park.
“Charles Glenn used to perform the national anthem at the Blues home games,” Roberds said. “They do everything from Aerosmith to Kool and the Gang to the Rolling Stones to Beyonce to Billy Joel.”
She said one of Saturday evening’s highlights will be a fireworks display, which is scheduled to start at about 9:15 p.m. The fireworks will launch from Drewel Park, which is on Hill Drive in the Shaw’s Garden subdivision near Legion and Lions parks.
Shuttles will again run from the fairgrounds to the three parking locations from 5 p.m. to midnight.
Sunday
The festival’s final day kicks off at noon and features $1 carnival rides until 6 p.m.
Matt Kennon is scheduled to perform from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the beer garden, which will be open from noon to 5:30 p.m.
The final day also will have an artisan and vendor fair from noon to 6 p.m. in the Legion Park parking lot. Food vendors will also be open from noon to 6 p.m. in the Lions Park parking lot.
Roberds said the “Kids Korner” will be open from 1-4 p.m. on the south side of the Lions Park parking lot.
“We’re going to have a couple of magic shows and balloon artists,” she said.
Common Ground, a country band, will perform from 2-6 p.m. on the main stage.
Shuttles will not be available on Sunday.
For a complete schedule of Eureka Days events, go to eurekadays.com.