The Westville Freedom Celebration is taking place this week.
Freedom Celebration Committee chairman Gary Delhaye says it honors two significant historical events…
{AUDIO: “One is the Bicentennial Celebration of Vermilion County. Their 200th Anniversary is this year, and it’s also the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America. So, we wanted to put together a Freedom Celebration to not only honor Westville, but also our country and our county.”}
Some of the other activities during the week include:
— A Patriotic Home and Yard Decorating Contest.
— A Vendor Fair – featuring a Flea Market and Crafts on the St. Mary’s Grounds starting at 4:00 p.m. Friday and continuing Saturday and Sunday.
— A Westville American Legion Riders Post 51 Freedom Ride on Saturday (June 13th) starting at 11:00 a.m.
— The American Pie Band on the St. Mary’s stage on Friday (June 12th) from 7:00 until 10:00 p.m.
— A Polka Band on the St. Mary’s stage from 6:00 until 9:00 p.m. Friday during a Spaghetti Dinner at St. Mary’s Parish Hall from 4 until 7:00 p.m.
One of the special events is an ‘Ode To The Coal Miner’ at Rosie’s Tavern in the Grape Creek area on Tuesday (June 9th) starting at 5:30 p.m.
{AUDIO: “And that celebration honors our coal mining heritage, and honors the miners that were killed in Vermilion County. And we have a lot of fun activities that are scheduled that night. And I know that we have a special coal miner’s daughter’s presentation and speech. We’ve got some local politicians who are going to be out there…as we honor our heritage and our coal miners.”
Delhaye says the Westville Freedom Celebration originally was only going to be two days – but others wanted to join the fun – including the Westville American Legion…
{AUDIO: “Wednesday and Thursday are both going to be special nights at the Westville American Legion. They’re going to have a dinner on both nights, plus some fun activities. They’re going to have the Tuneslingers band on Thursday night. But we’re really happy to bring a patriotic costume contest to the Legion.”}
The patriotic costume contest is Thursday evening at the Legion.
The Westville High School Alumni decided their group would join the fun during the Spaghetti Dinner at the St. Mary’s Parish Hall from 4 until 7 p.m. on Saturday. A recognition program honoring the Westville High School Classes of 1976, 2001, and 2026 will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Open Houses are also taking place at the Westville Depot and Museum on Friday from 3:00 until 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and at the Westville Public Library from 9:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Friday and 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. There will also be an Open House at Latoz Hardware from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday (June 13th) celebrating the store’s 80th anniversary.
And a Patriotic Golf Cart Parade is set for Sunday….
{AUDIO: “We’re excited to offer a Patriotic Golf Cart Parade which will start at one o’clock from Westville High School. And we’re encouraging everybody that has carts to decorate those carts in patriotic colors and themes. We’re going to have a judging contest for people to win prizes. … We have a golf cart route already established that will go all over the village. So we encourage everybody to sit out and watch the golf cart parade.”}
The Vermilion County Voles Vintage Baseball Team will also play a game starting at 3 p.m. Sunday at Zamberletti Park in Westville as part of the Freedom Celebration.
All activities are to honor Vermilion County’s Bicentennial and America’s 250th Anniversary. For a complete schedule of events visit:
https://stmaryscc.com/vermilion-200th
