Below is the official press release for the Celestine 175 celebration. The press release is downloadable at CelestineIndiana.com The celebration starts Thursday June 28th through Sunday July 1st. Complete details on CelestineIndiana.com
Click HERE download the PDF version of the press release and HERE for the MS Word version.
THE SMALL TOWN OF CELESTINE INDIANA CELEBRATES ITS 175th BIRTHDAY IN A BIG WAY WITH A WEEKEND FILLED WITH FUN, FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT THURSDAY, JUNE 28 THROUGH SUNDAY, JULY 1
Celestine, Indiana – The Celestine 175 festival celebrates the 175th birthday of the small community of Celestine, Indiana, and St. Celestine Catholic Church.
The four-day “rain or shine” festival will be held on the grounds of St. Celestine Church and the surrounding parks from Thursday evening, June 28, through Sunday afternoon, July 1, with the gorgeous scenery of the rolling hills of Celestine on full display.
This 175th celebration is free to attend, including free parking. Enjoy a festive atmosphere for all ages with nationally and regionally-acclaimed entertainment, a celebration of the community’s history, the heritage of farming and German ancestry, and over a dozen of activities for youth, providing four days of fun!
Huge tents and many tables and chairs will accommodate several thousand guests. Plentiful parking is available in the fields around Celestine with shuttles running continuously to bring people up the hill to St. Celestine Church carport entry area to the main grounds.
Based on the popularity of the homemade foods available at the previous years’ Celestine street festivals, fried chicken, BBQ ribs, pork chops, hamburgers, bratwursts, and turkey tenders will continue to draw large crowds. To make the meal complete, all types of fresh-made sweets and desserts will be sold by local community organizations.
The area’s strong German heritage always shows itself through packed attendance at a beloved beer garden. Twenty visitors from Celestine’s sister city of Wagshurst, Germany will be on hand to give the fest a true German flair.
Highlights include:
• Nationally Touring AC/DC Tribute Band Dirty Deeds USA
• 3 Performances by the Cincinnati Circus Company
• Hot Air Balloon Rides
• Fireworks Show
• Rock Wall & Zip Line
• Car Show
• Tractor Show & Farm Demonstrations
• $10,000 Cash Raffle
• Thursday Night Parade
• Sunday Daytime Parade
• Performances by local Musical Artists Fire & Ice, Troy Miller, Bobby Reutman, Party DJ music by Boogie Tunes DJ
• 5K Race
• Locally Prepared Food with Local Favorite Dishes
• German Beer Garden
• Fashions of Yesteryear Contest
• Quilt Raffle featuring 19 Quilts
• Inflatables, Kids Races & Kids Games
• Dodgeball Tourney
• Sheephead Tourney
• Cornhole Tourney
• Dunking Booth
• Brothers of the Brush Beard Contest
• Catholic Mass with German Musicians
• Free Admission & Parking
June 28th, Thursday night, will feature opening ceremonies; presentation of the Grand Marshalls - the children of Vic & Viola Sander - Jim, Don, and Ron Sander and Martha Goepfrich; presentation of the Queen court along with Junior Miss, and Little Miss & Mister and the Senior King & Queen; the judging of the Fashions of Yesteryear; and baking contests. The evening will wrap up with the unique Night Parade with lighted floats going from Celestine Park to St. Celestine Church and back.
June 29th, Friday, kicks the all-ages celebration into high gear with a concert by the top nationally touring AC/DC Tribute Band Dirty Deeds USA. The evening also includes a fireworks show and performances by traveling troubadour, Troy Miller, along with Celestine’s own singer/songwriter, Bobby Reutman. Top quality dinners will be available along with the festive beer garden. Nine quilts will be raffled off and the large tractor and farm equipment show, open all weekend, will feature farm demonstrations and games. A dodgeball tourney along with kids’ games and tours of Celestine Elementary school rounds out the evenings activities.
June 30th, Saturday, will feature a strong family-friendly atmosphere with three performances by the Cincinnati Circus Company, hot air balloon rides, kids’ games and competitions, inflatables, and a rock wall and zip line will delight all!
Other Saturday activities include a 5K race, a car show in Celestine Park, continued tractor show and farm demonstrations, an adult pedal tractor pull competition, sheep head (playing cards) tourney, beer garden games, corn hole tourney, church tours, Sander Processing tours, Mass at St. Celestine, hot air balloon glow over the grounds at dark, dunking booth and a performance by the Dubois County Country Cloggers. Nine more quilts will be raffled off along with chances sold to win $10,000 in cash prizes as part of the grand raffle.
Saturday’s entertainment is headlined by local favorite band Fire & Ice playing hits from the 1950’s through today and Boogie Tunes DJ will continue the party after dark.
July 1st, Sunday, features a celebration Mass at 8 a.m. at St. Celestine Church, featuring a performance of a contingent of bandsmen and women from our Sister City of Wagshurst, Germany.
After the opening of food booths and the beer garden, the town-wide parade begins at 1 p.m. Following the parade, closing ceremonies will be held, including the judging of the Brothers of the Brush beard contest, and the drawing of the winners of the $10,000 cash raffle.
Proceeds from the fest will be distributed to the organizations and charities of the Celestine community. The fest leadership team would like to extend their thanks to the large pool of sponsors and volunteers who are coming together to make the fest a success!
The community of Celestine and St. Celestine Catholic Church were founded in 1843 by the Catholic priest, Fr. Joseph Kundek. Noting the similarities to his home area of Southwestern Germany, he relayed word back that the area was ripe for German settlers to move to America. The town has continued to grow and thrive based on its German heritage over the past 175 years.
Celestine is located in Southwestern Indiana, near Jasper and Patoka Lake, on the eastern edge of Dubois County.
Please visit CelestineIndiana.com or Celestine Indiana on Facebook for the complete event schedule and more details.
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