MILLBURY – The village will celebrate its 150th birthday this weekend.
A parade is planned as are food trucks, vendors and live music on Saturday.
Previously, Millbury was known as Clay Junction. The village was platted in 1864, and named after Millbury, Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1874.
The parade starts at 12:30 p.m. with 30-35 units.
“It’s going to be a decent parade,” said Kurt Schwamberger, event chairman and village council president.
The parade will line up at Earl Drive and Cherry Street, turn left onto Main Street and left again onto Vine Street. The parade will continue to Railroad Street and end at the fire hall.
There will be no marching band in the parade due to the lack of a director.
The car show is from 12:30-4 p.m. Registration starts at 11 a.m. at 28410 Oak St. The cost is $10 cash.
Kids activities – including face painting by Lake High School students and a bounce house – will be inside the fire hall. Roughly 20-30 vendors will join them. These activities will be from 12:30-6 p.m.
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church will offer carnival games, Schwamberger said.
A kids home run derby is planned to start at 6 p.m.
The beer garden will be open from 12:30-11 p.m. and two live bands are planned: Parallel Universe at 3 p.m. and Steve Kennedy at 7 p.m.
The fire department will offer shredded chicken and pulled pork at the fire hall.
Food trucks offering Kona ice, tacos, coffee and sandwiches will be on site from 12:30-10 p.m.
A tent will showcase scrapbooks detailing the history of the village.
“We want to get the community together,” Schwamberger said, “and show what we have to offer in Millbury.”
“It’s to bring the community back together,” agreed Mayor Michael D. Timmons, “it gives the community something to do.”
Timmons has been mayor for 45 years of the village, which has a population of 1,250.
They’re going to try to make this an annual event, said Schwamberger at Monday’s council meeting. “We’ll see what happens this year and we can plan for next year.”
“There’s a group of people adamant about keeping it going,” he said.
Schwamberger said the idea was broached in October and a committee was formed in April.
They had been trying to determine a way to bring the ox roast back, and this was a perfect time as it is the village’s 150th year, he said.
In the 1980s, the village would hold an ox roast, a festival to raise money for the fire department. It ended around 2006-07.
“Hopefully this is something we can keep going,” Timmons said.
