Bagel Gazette
Tuesday 7/14/2015
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BAGELFEST SCHEDULE Today
7 p.m., Miss Bagelfest Contest, Williams Elementary School, with Book of Golden Deeds presented at 6:45 p.m. 6 p.m. Bagel Baby Contest, day one, at the Cross County Mall
Wednesday
6 p.m., Bagel Baby Contest, day two, at the Cross County Mall 6-10 p.m., carnival opens
Thursday
6-11 p.m., carnival and vendors open 5-11 p.m., food and vendors open 6-9 p.m., bingo in the DeMars Center 8-10 p.m., contemporary Christian music PLUMB on the main stage. Admission is free; gates open at 6 p.m.; please bring your lawn chair. Mattoon Pride Tourney, Roundhouse Complex
Friday
1 p.m. to midnight, carnival opens 1 to 11 p.m., vendors open 6-9 p.m., bingo in the DeMars Center 5-11:45 p.m., beer tent opens. Live Music from 7-11:30 p.m. with band Switchback. 6 p.m. gates open, 8-10 p.m. music on the main stage: Waterloo Revival. Mattoon Pride Tourney, Roundhouse Complex
Saturday
6-6:30 a.m. Run for the Bagel registration, with 7 a.m. start time. www.mattoonymca.org 8-10 a.m., free Bagel Breakfast at the DeMars Center in Peterson Park 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., “Dragonflies” live entertainment, Rotary Band Shell 10:30 a.m., Bagelfest Parade Noon to 11 p.m., carnival open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., vendors open 1-7 p.m., bingo in the DeMars Center 1:30-2:30 p.m., Bagel Bow Wow in the Rotary Band Shell 5-6:30 p.m., bluegrass performers Lindley Creek 5-11:45 p.m., beer tent open. X-Krush 7-11:30 p.m. 6 p.m. gates open, music 8-10 p.m. by Frankie Ballard on the Main Stage Mattoon Pride Tourney, Roundhouse Complex All events are held in Peterson Park unless otherwise noted.
Photos by Kevin Kilhoffer, Journal Gazette/Times-Courier
A float with a replica of the Clock Tower from Back to the Future travels on Broadway Avenue during the Bagelfest Parade in Mattoon in 2010.
Bagelfest celebrating its 30th anniversary
Theme is ‘Celebrate Good Times, C’mon’ ROB STROUD
JG-TC Staff Writer
ATTOON — What started M in 1986 as a community breakfast to introduce the new Lender’s Bagels bakery to Mattoon has since grown into an annual event that draws thousands of festival-goers to Peterson Park. Bagelfest is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, marking three decades of serving up a free bagel breakfast and other family friendly festivities. The event also will once again feature performances by nationally touring musicians, culminating with a Frankie Ballard concert at 8 p.m. Saturday. Mattoon Tourism Director Angelia Burgett said the 2015 festival’s theme, “Celebrate Good Times, C’mon,” is about celebrating the long,
Members of the Band Perry perform during Bagelfest at Peterson Park in Mattoon in 2010. Main Stage entertainment is always a big part of the annual festival.
continuous history of Bagelfest. Burgett said the “Celebrate” theme will be incorporated into float decorations in the annual Bagelfest parade at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and other
aspects of the festival. She said the parade’s grand marshal is always Lender’s Bagels, which has remained a major supporter since the festival’s beginning. “The parade is awesome. Our
parade is always huge, with lots of entries,” said volunteer coordinator Leann Polston. The parade travels through downtown via Broadway Avenue, where Bagelfest was originated, east to Peterson Park, which has hosted the festival since 2000. Polston said Peterson Park offers a lot of shade trees for those attending Bagelfest and its carnival during hot midsummer days. She said the park’s air-conditioned DeMars Center also offers relief from the heat. The DeMars Centers will host the free bagel breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, as well as bingo games from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday. Grimes Field at Peterson Park hosts the Bagelfest main stage, which will be the setting of a free concert by contemporary Christian artist Plumb at 8 p.m. Thursday and ticketed concerts by country
acts Waterloo Revival at 8 p.m. Friday and Frankie Ballard at 8 p.m. Saturday. Polston said the concerts are among her favorite activities at Bagelfest, adding that she particularly enjoyed performances by Blake Shelton in 2004 and the Zac Brown Band in 2009. “It seems like after they have been to Bagelfest they become big stars,” Polston said. Bagelfest’s souvenir stand will be located at the park’s southeast entrance gate near Grimes Field. Burgett said festival organizers have revived the tradition of offering Bagelfest commemorative mugs, which will be available for sale at the stand. The souvenir stand this year will accept credit/debit cards for the first time and offer the festival’s first-ever charging station for smart phones, Burgett said. She added that BAGELFEST/2
Bagelfest parade keeping with festival’s main theme MATTOON (JG-TC) — There will be chances to wish “happy birthday” to Bagelfest during the festival’s parade Saturday morning. Parade participants are encouraged to help celebrate the theme of the 30th anniversary of Bagelfest, according to Regina Beals, tourism assistant with the Mattoon Tourism Department. The anniversary celebration is the theme of this year’s festival and parade entries can feature birthday cakes, balloons or other party items, Beals said. She added that entries representing the era 30 years ago when Bagelfest started would also meet the theme. “Celebrate Good Times, C’mon” is also part of this year’s theme, organizers said. The Bagelfest parade is traditionally the largest in Mattoon each year and this year’s version is scheduled to begin at
2015 Bagel Gazette sponsors:
Bagels and candy fly from the Pinnacle Foods entry in the 2014 Bagelfest Parade on Broadway Avenue in Mattoon.
10:30 a.m. Saturday. It will start at the intersection of 21st Street and Western Avenue then turn onto Broadway Avenue and go east to Second Street just east of Peterson Park. Entries can begin lining up
at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Beals said. She said the deadline for advance entries is Thursday but entries can still join the lineup Saturday morning. Entry forms are available on the Bagelfest website, www. mattoonbagelfest.com.
Photos by Ken Trevarthan, Journal Gazette/Times-Courier
Members of the Lake Land College cheerleading squad perform tosses for the spectators lining Broadway Avenue during the 2014 Bagelfest parade in Mattoon.