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Roscoe

Fall Festival Sunday begins with a grand parade, ends with grand prize

Leaders of the Roscoe Lions Club pronounced their 50th Fall Festival a success.

Michael McGinnis

Michael McGinnis

— 4 min read
Fall Festival Sunday begins with a grand parade, ends with grand prize
Photo: Joel McGinnis

The last day of the 2021 Roscoe Fall Festival began with breakfast at Leland Park, hosted by Roscoe United Methodist Men. It featured light, sweet pancakes and sausages before the parade. Several of the men made a point of asking guests if they wanted more. The event benefitted service projects that the group helps to support.

The Festival Parade took a new route for 2021 - from Bridge and Main Streets ending at Williams Street near Main Street Square. As always, it was led by the Roscoe VFW color guard. In honor of the 20th anniversary of 9-11, uniformed firefighters of the Harlem-Roscoe Fire Protection District marched alongside their vehicles. The Hononegah Community High School marching band also put on a good show in warm uniforms on a  warm day. The musicians from Roscoe Middle School were dressed less formally. The Roscoe Township Historical Society was represented by several Model A cars, one of which contained local historian Doris Tropp in a pioneer sun bonnet. The parade included a contingent of Lions members, marching bands, floats, dignitaries, and lots of Jeeps.

Thousands of spectators gathered along the parade route for this festival tradition. The Roscoe Police closed Main Street at 10:00 a.m. as the parade began to line up at McDonald Road and Main Street, but traffic was already slowing. When the parade ended, police cars blocked the southbound lane of Main Street so the rest of the parade and other motorists could exit the area to the north.

Daily attendance prizes continued every half hour. Ticket purchasers ($1 each) had a chance to win items donated by local businesses.

The Roscoe Fall Festival is one of the longest running events of its kind. In 1910, the Roscoe Improvement Association held the first Fall Festival in Roscoe. The Roscoe Lions Club has organized the annual event for the past 50 years. In 2020, it was canceled because of COVID-19.

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Karaoke on the Main Stage by Johnny West & Friends, sponsored by the Roscoe VFW, benefited Vets Roll.

Not everybody noticed, but by decree of Mrs. Skinner, carnival rides prices were cut in half on Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Skinner made all the carnival pricing decisions from her food booth across from the ticket booth. Each ticket still cost a dollar, but each ride needed fewer tickets than on previous days. Discount wristbands for unlimited rides were only available for the Saturday Kids Day.

The OGMC gave a fun musical experience on the Main Stage from 3:30 - 7:30 p.m. They began with Summer of '69, made famous by Bryan Adams, with Dan Tritten as lead singer. Tritten is also one of the main forces behind UTR, who performed on Saturday. After his concert on Sunday, he told us that since these bands have so many musicians who can step in to perform, they never have to cancel a show. He said this was his fifth show in five days.

Before the prize drawings, the Roscoe Township Historical Society announced the recipients of the Heritage Enterprise Recognition awards, to honor three businesses who dedicated their work and lives to the improvement of our township. They also awarded copies of  the local history book Images of America: Roscoe to five winners.

The prize drawings began on the Main Stage at 8:00 p.m. The winners were:

  • Jacque Buffo: $5,000
  • Patty Mayfield: $1,500
  • Rennick Shank: $1,000
  • Fourth Place ($50) - Shelia Ball, Kathy Porter, John Cressman, Tara Smith, R&L Auto Body, Fred Young, Debbie Feeney, Justin Krohn, Kelly Bauer and Sarah Cheney.

Raffle tickets were $5 each or 5 for $20, for sale across from the Attendance Tent.

The Harlem-Roscoe Fire Department also awarded large prizes in their own drawing.

  • 1st Prize $750 Visa Gift Card - Sarah Cheney
  • 2nd Prize- $500 Visa Gift Card - Jon Kemmett
  • 3rd Prize- $250 Visa Gift Card - J. Street

Rockton-Roscoe News awarded a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant, or $50 in free advertising, to one of our subscribers, chosen with complete mathematical randomness by RANDOM.ORG, a service built in 1998  by Dr. Mads Haahr of the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland. This subscriber, an amateur radio operator and a Vietnam War veteran, has been contacted by email.

The Roscoe Lions Club is grateful for the support of the community.

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Partners:

Attendance Tent sponsors:

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