CRESTLINE — After a year’s hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crestline Harvest Festival returns. The festival is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 16-18.
Crestline Community Development Team member Clayton Herold said the festival is more important for the village in this time than it has ever been in the past.
“Last year, with the state orders, we couldn’t have a festival,” Herold said. “We tried our best to hold out until the very end, but then we had to cancel it. Forty-seven years the Harvest Festival has been part of Crestline. There’s a lot of folks that are alumni of Crestline High School that come back just for it. So we’re expecting a lot of former Crestline residents to come back into town. It’s celebration of the fall. It’s probably one of the first events that happens in the fall in the area.”
One of the highlights of the festival includes the crowning of royalty on Thursday, Sept. 16 on the main stage. The Little Miss Harvest Pageant is scheduled for 5 p.m. followed by the Harvest Festival Princess Pageant at 6 p.m. and then the Queens Pageant at 7 p.m. Pageants director Hannah Feldman said interviews with pageant contestants are being conducted on Saturday, Sept. 11 at Crestline High School.
Another festival highlight is the parade, which is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18. The parade begins at Kelly Park.
Crestline Harvest Festival has a strong entertainment lineup planned for 2021. All of the acts were originally signed for the 2020 event and decided to honor those contracts for this year’s festival.
Big Red Deluxe, billed as “Northwest Ohio’s Premier Party Band,” kicks off the entertainment schedule on Friday, Sept. 17. The 5-piece cover band blends classic rock, modern rock, country, Motown, and funk. They’re schedule to play on the main stage at 6:30 p.m.
Nashville recording artist Julia Neville takes to the main stage at 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17. The Logan, Ohio, native’s 2017 EP “Survivor” debuted to rave reviews and became an instant favorite on streaming services across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Columbus-based These Guys Live is one of the two featured bands on Saturday, Sept. 18. The 5-man cover band plays hits from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. They take the main stage at 6:30 p.m.
Wrapping up the main stage entertainment is Shucking Bubba Deluxe, a 5-piece band from Columbus that plays everything from “old school hip-hop to funk to alternative rock.” Shucking Bubba Deluxe has the main stage to themselves at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18.
“Our committee members Bev Payne and Linda Smith do a great job,” Herold said. “They go out and get these bands and bring in some really good talent.”
Herold said the Harvest Festival is designed with children and families in mind. He reflected on his childhood and what the festival meant to him and his friends.
“I went to St. Joe’s in Crestline and I remember being on the top floor in fifth or sixth grade and looking out,” he said. “You could see all the rides and everything. Me and my friends were excited because we knew we’d get to go and have some fun. When we were out at recess we’d smell the fair food, but you couldn’t leave, so it was kind of like ‘Stop teasing us out on the playground with the fair food.’
“But I know a lot of the kids enjoy it and it’s about families having fun, folks coming back that have been gone for a while or maybe they make this their annual trip back into town,” he added. “But a lot of it’s for the kids. A lot of the activities are focused around the kids.”
For information about the Crestline Harvest Festival, go to its website crestlineoh.com/harvest-festival/ or like Crestline Harvest Festival on Facebook to keep up with the latest festival information.
Crestline Harvest Festival 2021 Schedule
Thursday, Sept. 16
Opening Ceremony/Pioneer Performing Arts (Main Stage), 4:30 p.m.
Midway and Rides Open, 5:00 p.m.
Little Miss Harvest Pageant (Main Stage), 5:00 p.m.
Harvest Festival Princess Pageant (Main Stage), 6:00 p.m.
Queens Pageant (Main Stage), 7:00 p.m.
Pioneer Performing Arts (Main Stage), 9:00 p.m.
Midway and Rides Close, 10:00 p.m
Friday, Sept. 17
Midway Opens, 12:00 p.m.
Rides Open, 1:00 p.m.
Pioneer Performing Arts (Main Stage), 2:00 p.m.
Alumni Night (St. Joseph Convocation Center), 6:00 p.m.
Big Red Deluxe (Main Stage), 6:30 p.m.
Julia Neville (Main Stage), 9:00 p.m.
Rides Close, 10:00 p.m.
Midway Closes, 11:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 18
Crestline Fire Department Pancake Breakfast (Fire Station), 7:00 a.m.
Craft Show (Methodist Church), 9:00 a.m.
Back the Blue Car & Motorcycle Show (Village Hall Parking Lot), 9:00 a.m.
Midway and Rides Open, 12:00 p.m.
Royal Princesses (Central Park Gazebo), 12:00 p.m.
Parade (Begins at Kelly Park), 3:30 p.m.
These Guys Live (Main Stage), 6:30 p.m.
Crestline Harvest Festival Hoops Competition (St. Joseph Convocation Center), 7:00 p.m.
Shucking Bubba Deluxe (Main Stage), 9:00 p.m.
Rides Close, 10:00 p.m.
Midway Closes, 11:00 p.m.
Contests —Saturday on the Main Stage
Baby Crawling, 10:00 a.m.
Pig Tail/Pony Tail, 10:15 a.m.
Hula Hoop, 10:30 a.m.
Limbo, 10:45 a.m.
Seed Spitting, 11:00 a.m.
Water Balloon, 11:30 a.m.
Hay Bale Tossing, 12:00 p.m.
Checker’s Pizza Eating, 12:30 p.m.
Mi Cerrito Taco Eating (18 & over, limited to 10 people), 1:00 p.m.
Beard Contest (18 & over), 1:30 p.m.
