It’s a classic summer recipe for the Harmar Days Festival July 28-30: music, food vendors, beer garden, music, crafts, music, art demonstrations, music, car show, “everything kids” carnival, music, yoga, music, big raffle drawing.
The festival organized by the Historic Harmar Bridge Company is part of the nonprofit group’s effort to preserve, rehabilitate and reimagine Marietta’s Harmar Bridge so that it can return as a vibrant part of the city’s day-to-day life, as well as a rich part of its history.
The events are planned for Harmar Village’s multipurpose recreational area in the Gilman Avenue/Maple Street section of Harmar. (The narrow blue structure with the Harmar Village Post Office sign at 222 Gilman marks the official center of action.)
Festival chairwoman Allie Schultheis said one thing that makes the festival a little bit more unique than others is the number of different music acts booked into the period from the opening at 6 p.m. July 28, to the closing at 5:30 p.m. July 30. There are three bands Friday night, eight bands from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. July 29 and three bands between 1:30 and 5:30 p.m. July 30. All in all, Schultheis said, it averages out to new music about every one and a half hours.
“There are so many acts, you can sit there for several hours and really enjoy yourself,” she said.
Sour Mash String Band will be back as the July 29 night feature, starting at 7 p.m. The names of all the music acts and the times they appear can be found on Historic Harmar Bridge Company’s FaceBook page under a recent entry titled “Top Tier Entertainment and Class Acts.”
Other highlights include:
¯ The Mid-Ohio Valley Wide Trackers Car Show, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. July 29. About 125 cars are anticipated. They’ll be lined up on Gilman Avenue.
¯ The Kids Zone, with petting zoo, foam garage, inflatables and carnival games. The Kids Zone will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 29 and noon to 5 p.m. July 30.
¯ Eight food trucks, from coffee to hibachi to ice cream, pierogies and barbecue. The food vendors and beer garden will be open 6 to 10 p.m. July 28, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. July 29 and noon to 5 p.m. July 30.
¯ Craft and art show on Maple Street from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 29 and noon to 5 p.m. July 30, including live demonstrations and art “classes.”
¯ A 12:15 p.m. July 30 onstage yoga stretching session with Lindsay Mulvey, a Marietta College fitness instructor.
¯ A noon July 30 raffle drawing, which is the major fundraising aspect of the festival. Raffle tickets are available at Busy Bee Restaurant and Schultheis Insurance in Marietta and McCarter Health Center in Parkersburg. The tickets, which are $100, also may be purchased online. The Bridge Company’s FaceBook page has an entry about the Harmar Days Festival that provides the ticket purchase link to saveharmarbridge.rallyup.com/2023 campaign. The top three prizes are a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, an ATV and a 60-inch zero turn lawn mower. There are also eight other raffle items.