Here's what, where and when: Hometown Amerifest June 26-27
Here's the up-to-the-minute schedule for this year's first-ever Bluffton Hometown Amerifest. The sponsoring groups are the Bluffton Lions Foundation and its Festival of Wheels, the Bluffton-Pandora Rotary Club and its Freedom Festival, and the Relay for Life Fundraising event.
PARADE - NOON SATURDAY
FIREWORKS - 10:15 P.M. SATURDAY
Saturday and Sunday, June 26-27
SATURDAY June 26
7:00 am - 7:00 pm Corvette Raffle Tickets on Sale Downtown
7:00 am - 11:30 am Crossroads of America Car Rally (blufftonlionsfoundation.org )
Information available at booth in front of High School Football Stadium off College Ave )
8:30 am - 12:00 pm Farmers' Market (CNB Bank parking lot by post office)
7:00 am - 7:00 pm Swap Meet (Church Street off Main)
9:00 am - Dark Softball Tournament (New Softball Field in Bluffton
University Athletic complex off Bentley Road)
9 a.m. - food concession opens at stadium - Gyro Corner
9:00 am- 10 pm Corvette Raffle tickets on sale at Bluffton University Stadium
10:00 am - 3:00 pm Open House at Swiss Homestead 8350 Bixel Road
10:30am -11:45 pm Staging for Parade
(H.S. football field parking/Railroad Street)
11:00-8:00 pm Food Court (Taste of Food) Elm St. at Town Hall, College & Vine (Fazolli's, Luginbuhl ice cream, Previte International Grill and more)
12:00 - 1:00 pm Parade (College St. to Main to Elm to Bentley Rd. to University)
12:30 p.m. - Friends of the Library Kids' Activities (Vine Street)
1:00 pm Shuttle bus begins at three sites - Town Hall, Library, circular drive in front of Yoder Hall. Departs every 15 minutes. Check with drrvers for end time.
1:00 pm Massages by Institute of Therapeutic Massage, Lima and Ottawa
1:00 - 7 pm Information Center (Bank parking lot by Post Office)
1 to 4 p.m. - Boy Scout Troop 256 Pinewood Derby (next to Groves Bears on Elm St.)
1:00 - 4:00 pm Car Registration (CNB Bank parking lot by Post Office)
1:00 pm Survivor Registration (University Stadium)
1:00 - 11:00 pm ACS Silent Auction
(University Stadium by Concession Stand)
1:00 pm Eating Contest at Kids Korral (University Stadium)
1:30 p.m. - Eating contest for all ages begins
1:00 - 2:30 pm Survivor/Caregiver Meal (Survivor Tent at Stadium)
1:00 - 2:00 pm National Kiddie Tractor Pull Registration - Vine off Main
1:00 pm Concessions open at Stadium (visit team sites for more choices)
2:00 - 4:30 pm Kiddie Tractor Pull - Vine Street off Main
1:30 - 8:00 pm Luminaria Sales
2:00 - 2:30 pm Band "On the Run"
2:30 pm Opening Ceremony/Flag presentation by
AmericanLegion Post 382
/Anthem Pleasant View and Mount Cory UM Church
Survivor/Caregiver Lap to follow/vocalist -
Chris Myers/welcome-Mayor Fred Rodabaugh
3:00 pm Entertainment - Polaretts Baton Corps
3:00 - 4:00 pm Cake Walk at Kids Korral
3:30 - 6:00 pm Ultimate Frisbee
3:30 - 8:30 pm Kids Korral Opens (Inflatables and Games)
3:45 pm Entertainment - Son of Adam
4:00 - Dark - Cancer Education and Prevention under stands - Hospice and more
4:30 pm Chicken Dance/Macarena/YMCA Theme Laps
5:00 pm Duck Race - Rotary
5:00 pm Entertainment - Flag City Cloggers following pie judging
5:00 - 7:00PM Cake Walk at Kids Korral
6:00 pm 50's/60's Lap (dress the part)
6:30 - 7:30 pm Lima Area Concert Band (Sponsored by the Rotary)
6:45-7:30 pm Car Show Awards Announced at Information Center
(Bank Parking Lot by Post Office)
7:00 pm Reverse Course Lap (walk the other direction, this could be repeated)
7:00 pm Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest at Kids Korral8:00-8:45 pm Cruise (College Ave to Jackson to Elm to Bentley)
7:45 - 8:30 pm Pie Auction (Stage at Relay)8:30 pm Poker Lap (everyone can play)/Light Luminaries
8:45 pm Luminary Ceremony - speaker Linda Laing, vocalists Bailey Prichard, Caleb Burkey and friends, emcee Sam Brauen, readers - Eric Fulcomer, Kevin Gratz, and Dan Stanowick
10:12 p.m. - Relay team: Safe in His Arms raffle winner announced
10:15 pm Announce winner of Corvette at the University Entertainment Stage
10:15 pm Fireworks
(please note time change; fireworks were originally 10:30 p.m.)
AFTER FIREWORKS WALKING RESUMES
11:00 pm Movie - behind concession stand
11:00 pm Glow in Dark Lap (let's light up the track)
11:00 pm Entertainment - Wendy Chappell-Dick and the Return of the Wayfaring Cowgirls
11:30 pm TEAM CAPTAIN AND COMMITTEE BIRTHDAY BASH
Midnight Entertainment, games, board games and more
SUNDAY June 27
12:00 - 3:00 am Karaoke
2:00 - 3:00 am Hula Hoop Lap
3:00 - 4:00 am Backwards Lap (walk backwards)
4:00 - 5:00 am OSU/Michigan Lap
5:00 - 6:00 am Bed Head Lap (prize for the worst bed head)
6:00 - 9: 00 am Pancake Breakfast (survivors eat free, concession stand)
7:45 am Community Worship Service/Closing Ceremony - Bluffton Trinity/Jenera UM Church
12:30 pm-3:00pm Swiss Day Celebration at Ebenezer Mennonite Church
Events or times subject to change
*If event venue is not stated - event held at Bluffton University Stadium
** Shuttle bus begins at three sites - Town Hall, Library, circular drive in front of Yoder Hall. Departs every half hour.
Stories Posted This Week
Saturday, September 26, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, September 26
- September 26 Bluffton Schools athletics lineup, streaming
- State Patrol investigates serious injury crash involving ambulance
- Weekend Doctor: What is a DO?
- Distance runner Chappell-Dick to be inducted in EMU Hall of Honor
- October Business Collective with Bluffton Food Pantry
Friday, September 25, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, September 25
- Clay, community, and the classroom
- Pirate volleyball loss vs. Crestview
- Pirate girls soccer win vs. Allen East
- Janine Elizabeth (Minnich) Millager, 87, was a lab technician
- Send October 2026 calendar events to the Icon
- New time for Planning and Bluffton Beyond Tomorrow meetings, Sept 29
- Pirate boys golf 10th at sectionals
- Fall Festival activities are all over Bluffton, Sept. 26
Thursday, September 24, 2026
- Marilyn Florence (Brunn) Osting, 94, was a nurse
- Paul Richard Wingate Jr., 79, worked for the Lima Ford Engine Plant
- Ada Icon headlines, Sept. 24
- Roundabouts celebrated for crash reduction
- Scarecrow competition for Bluffton businesses
- Hello, Goodbye: Diphenhydramine for allergies
- 5th Annual MHCO Gala will Roll Out the Red Carpet
- Funeral notice for Mary Louise Reddick
- ODNR urges caution during fall wildfire season
- Nursing student to share clinical research at First Tuesday in the Library
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
- Chamber members take a lesson from Jacomet's Martial Arts
- Proud of your pie? Sept. 26 apple pie baking contest
- Save November 6-7 for Holiday Open House
- Friends of the Library book sale, Sept. 24-26
- Pirate girls golf places 6th at sectionals
- Pirate volleyball outlasts Grove
- Bluffton tennis wins on consecutive nights
- Pirate boys soccer edged by Liberty Center