A wagon stood at the entrance to Pioneer Days in Kalida Saturday.
Jacob Espinosa | The Lima News
KALIDA — Eric Kahle estimated over 6,000 attended Pioneer Days as of Saturday afternoon.
The annual fall festival covered downtown Kalida with rides, tents for crafts, vendors and a car show.
“The weather’s been fantastic, the crowds have been good and so have the entertainers and live music,” Kahle, a committee member for the festival, said. “We’re very pleased with the job our weather committee has done for us.”
Jon Sickles said he has been coming to the festival every year since he moved to Kalida 16 years ago.
“Obviously it’s a great event every year,” he said. “There’s always something different. Some things are the same, like the rides and the food, but the entertainment is always different, which is great, so it’s a good family event.”
Glandorf resident Ashley Pothast grew up in Kalida and said she enjoyed visiting her hometown with her three sons.
“It’s so fun getting together and seeing old friends and supporting the community,” she said. “The pioneer food is great, the rides are great and it’s just a good time.”
Shawnee resident Jim Hubbard found joy in seeing a ’51 Chevy truck he said was his age.
“We’ve been here before,” he said. “We enjoy the food, seeing all the people and looking at the cars.”
Lima native and Nashville-based artist Derek Alan performed at the festival Friday night, which Kahle said made for a special evening, but it was hard to put into words what the event means as a whole.
“We have two clubs (the Kalida Fire Department and Lions Club) that are very different coming together to work and collaborate toward the common goal of this successful festival,” Kahle added. “What that means is new fire equipment training for our brave volunteer firefighters and updates to our town and park systems. We’re able to give to charitable events to help those in need within our community so it’s pretty special.”
Dangerous Feats of Comedy was set to perform at 6 p.m.
For a full schedule for the event which runs through Sunday, visit pioneerdays.com.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
