The theme for the 2021 Harlan Days is ‘Welcome Back!’ and our local volunteers have been putting in a lot of hard work getting this year’s festival to take shape. This summer we are so glad to welcome everyone back to celebrate the 74th annual Harlan Days in support of the Harlan Community Park! The Park is community owned and receives no tax dollars. To kick the festival off, the Opening Ceremony at the
American Flag will be at 6:00 am on Thursday, featuring the National Anthem sung by Tom Didier. This year’s festival will offer many options including arena shows, great carnival rides by Huesman Amusement Co. An ‘All Access’ wristband will be available which will allow the wearer to ride unlimited rides for all 3 nights and enter all 3 arena events (*wristband quantities limited). Regular daily unlimited ride only wristbands will also be available at the ticket booth. The Grand Parade is on Saturday morning with Honorary Citizen, Elmer Strautman and Grand Marshal, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch. Parade judges will be Ben Bourdreau, Olivier Laqault, Kaleigh Schrock, Jos Moles, and Jeff McCracken.
The popular free t-shirt drawings will happen every day of the festival. Go ahead and test your luck with a few Raffle Tickets for a chance to win a $7500 Cash Prize or one of 9 other great prizes! (*No Car for grand prize this year due to skyrocketing vehicle costs). There will be daily softball, cornhole, and basketball tourneys, a volleyball tourney, Bingo Tent, helicopter rides, Youth Parade, Kiddie Tractor Pull, Youth Kickball Tourney, a large ‘Arts & Crafts Tent’, Blacksmithing demonstrations by MT Forge, Skunk Mountain Boys appearances, a dog agility competition, & a dog breed exhibit. Bring your kids to the Kid’s FREE Game Tent, and make sure you stop by and listen to the FREE nightly live music featuring Sunny Taylor on Thursday, Fansler Kid on Friday, and the Aaron Stutzman Band on Saturday. The 25th Annual Cruise-In Car Show is always a big hit, too.
Be sure to check out the Harlan Hustle 5K on Saturday morning and then head over to the Harlan Days Pancake Breakfast! As always, the Harlan Days Food Tent will be serving up some delicious meals daily along with many other food vendors and food trucks, including apple dumplings, BBQ, ice cream, cheese curds, Lion’s Club donuts, hamburger tent and much more!
Get to the festival early and snag a good seat in the festival arena for some great 2021 events. Thursday night we are proud to be hosting ‘Horse Racing’. Friday night you can join the arena fun with our ‘Side-by- Side Drag Racing’, and for the Saturday night main event you will not want to miss the fun of ‘Monster Trucks & Pyrotechnic Show’. Arena event gates open at 7:30 each night and events are just $5 on Thursday & Friday and $10 on Saturday.
Mark your calendars for August 5, 6 & 7 and don’t miss out on the best summer festival in the area! Please take this opportunity to support our wonderful Harlan Community Park. Festival entry & parking is free. Events are subject to change due to poor weather. Please leave your pets at home as there are no dogs allowed at the festival! Go to our website for more info on events and times. www.harlandays.com
Hope to see you there!
-Sara Pierce HD Festival
