2018 Middletown Family Fun Festival and Craft Show

For the 46th consecutive year, the City of Middletown is preparing to present an outdoor festival that will welcome 25,000 – 30,000 guests to their community. The 2018 Middletown Family Fun Festival and Craft Show will be held Friday, September 7 (6:00 – 9:00 PM) and Saturday, September 8 (10:00 AM – 9:30 PM). This family-oriented festival has something for everyone — from the truly young to the truly young at heart!

The Middletown Festival has had several names over years, as well as numerous producers: including the City of Middletown, the Middletown Lions Club and the Middletown Chamber of Commerce. This is the 10th year Eventualities, Inc. has been under contract and guidance of the Middletown City Commissioners to produce the entire festival.

Being one of the larger annual festivals in Louisville Metro and the surrounding area, it has a footprint along Old Main Street from Clarland Drive, throughout the historic Wetherby Park, the Middletown First Baptist Church – Celebration Hall parking lot, down past the Middletown Community Center (the original Middletown United Methodist Church) to Madison Avenue. The festival has grown to an average of 200 booths (food, arts and crafts, commercial, non-profit, educational and political). It features two performance stages, a legendary Dog Show, Festival Parade, an all free Kidz Zone and huge fireworks display.

ENTERTAINMENT

The stellar entertainment has included some of Louisville’s finest bands: the Wulfe Brothers, Louisville Crashers, Kudmani, From Paris, Caribou, Take Two, Jeff Rehmet, Perpetual Motion, Street Heat, Junkyard Hawks, Moondance  Ma’Am Overboard and many others have all provided free concerts for the attendees. As well as musicians you will traditionally find a couple of clowns, a magician or two, balloon twisters and jugglers roaming the festival grounds. Middletown First Baptist Church, like many of the other community churches, is a great friend and supporter of the festival. As well as opening up their parking lot to house the main performance stage, they have vendors inside their Celebration Hall, games in their main driveway, an Ice Cream Shop in the basement of the church and, to top it all off, they produce a Broadway-worthy musical in their sanctuary three times during the festival. They write a new musical morality play every year that showcases different scores from top theatrical musicals. Their sanctuary typically features complete stage trussing, a full-size band, spectacular props and a production that will not only entertain but give you a lot to celebrate. This year’s production The Hideout is sure to be another huge success.

FOOD & DRINK

The Food Court is set up in the parking lot behind City Hall. The vast aromas are fragrant enough to make anyone’s mouth water. From the expected carnival food: corndogs, hamburgers, steak sandwiches, ice cream, lemon shake-ups to an array of ethnic food, you will find something to delight even the pickiest appetite. Travel on down the street and you will find the Middletown Lions Club at the Main Stage lot cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs, just like they do at the monthly Free Concerts in the Park that the City of Middletown sponsors for families from April to October. Or travel across the street to the corner of Madison and Old Main Street and you will find the Middletown Methodist Men in front of the Community Center, serving up their legendary pork chop sandwiches. Many people buy several so they can take them home for later. Right next to the Methodist Men are the booths for the Middletown United Methodist Church. The friendly folks will share info about their church, ministry and have fun hand-outs.

You will find other vendors along Old Main Street from Madison Ave down to City Hall and all throughout Wetherby Park. Looking for homemade soap, jewelry, how to register to vote, cooking utensils, hair bows, a chiropractor, realty company, insurance provider, lipstick, after-school activities for the kids, dentists, heating stoves, you will find all that and more. Be sure to be in Middletown the weekend after Labor Day and you will be wowed

by what and who is there. This non-alcoholic event lends itself to a great opportunity to safely have fun and make cherished family memories.

KIDZ ZONE

But what about the kids? How about an entire “all-free” Kidz Zone?? Thanks to the City Commissioners they can bounce, slide, roll, jump and tumble to their heart’s content. This kid-friendly, well-supervised area will be a “must visit” area for the youngsters. Most importantly, the activity will guarantee them and you a good night’s sleep.

Early Saturday morning you will find the staff from Evergreen Animal Hospital and Animal Medical Center of Middletown organizing the Festival Dog Show. The Dog Show features competition for Cutest Puppy, Dog/Owner Look-Alikes, Best Dressed Dog, Smallest Dog, Largest Dog and Best Dog Trick. It is a dog lovers delight.

The Festival Parade rolls from Eastern High School at 11:45 AM. It then extends down to Watterson Trail. The parade is led by the Eastern High School Band, followed by the EHS ROTC and the Grand Marshal. The celebrity Marshals have included Heather French Henry, Scotty Davenport, Bill Lamb, Ret. Lt. Col. David Schneider and State Representative Ron Crimm. At the front of the parade, you will also find the Mayor and City Commissioners who all delight in tossing candy throughout the route to the excited children. What follows is a fun-filled hour of dance troops, schools, civic organizations, government officials, gymnasts, local businesses, costumed characters and decked out vehicles.

After the parade, the Middletown Lion’s Club sets up a Family Fun and Fitness Area by the Gazebo that overlooks the Kidz Zone. It is a great way for the family to participate together for fun and prizes. If all that is not enough, check out the Children’s Barnyard in the playground at Middletown First Baptist Church. The adorable baby farm animals were new to the festival last year and were an immediate hit. Baby chicks, piglets, calves, goats and a bossy but friendly turkey will amuse and delight the kiddos (and adults) for hours.

FIREWORKS

Everything culminates Saturday night at 9:00 PM with mind-blowing fireworks. The only fireworks display larger than the Middletown Festival in the State of Kentucky is Thunder Over Louisville. But the Middletown Fireworks is the only fireworks display in mid-America that is fired to live patriotic music. Prepare to settle back with your family and friends for a fast-paced 20 minutes. The Wulfe Brothers do a 2 and a half hour concert on the main stage then come to the gazebo to perform the patriotic program they are so well known for. The fireworks are produced by Loeffler Enterprises who has a long rich history and provides the pyro for the University of Louisville home football games. Bill Loeffler regularly brings in new products from China and Florida to pair with his other magical effects. The grand finale is beyond spectacular and will leave you breathless. Along with an all-new pre-fireworks show, be prepared for bigger and better than ever before.

The Middletown Family Fun Festival and Craft Show is representative of the community that proudly presents it annually. It is memorable, rich in diversity, beyond family friendly, welcoming to all and leaves you wanting more. The festival has had attendees and vendors from as far away as St. Louis, Atlanta, Cleveland, Nashville, Cincinnati and Indianapolis. It is all in your backyard. Come explore the festival and the community. Don’t just limit yourself to the festival. Middletown is a great place to bring the family to visit shops, eateries and have fun. Middletown is an even better place to live!

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