Covered Bridge Days slated for Friday and Saturday in Centreville

A local community celebration is observing a milestone anniversary this year.

Centreville’s Covered Bridge Days, a two-day festival that opens Friday, is observing its 50th anniversary.

Dawn Quirin, a member of the Covered Bridge Days Committee, said the panel of organizers comprises relatively new membership. The main pieces of the festival – its parade and fireworks display, for example – already were in place. The challenge, to some degree, was filling in the blanks to make Covered Bridge Days a complete, attractive event.

“It’s our 50th year so we really wanted to make this one special … that was our goal from the beginning,” Quirin said. “Also, were coming back from COVID, so we saw this as a challenge to make sure Covered Bridge Days was something fun for families to come out to and enjoy, and also to honor all of the past committees, the families that live here and have celebrated with us over the last 50 years. So, that was kind of our driving force.”

Quirin said there are a few new attractions this year. First, "Kids Zone" is being expanded. The theme is "Seuessville" and feature Dr. Seuss books, characters, stories, games and exciting adventures, Quirin said.

Also, with volunteer help from Centreville High School’s football team and Courageous Canines 4-H Club, the festival will feature a putt-putt golf course, yard dominoes and stationary games such as a bean-bag toss.

Quirin said the committee is especially proud of the enhanced Kids Zone.

“We’ve put together a 'Wine and Canvas' event – featuring non-alcoholic wine due to licensing, of course,” she said. “That is going to be at the Freedom Center at 7 p.m. Saturday. It’s worth a try and we’re hoping for a strong response.”

Also, the festival will feature a 1970s-themed dance 7-10 p.m. Saturday on Main Street, with music performed by Moon Howler.

Another attraction, a kids’ fishing derby, is scheduled to take place Saturday morning on St. Joseph River in the vicinity of Langley Covered Bridge. Entry fee is $1 and participants must be supervised by an adult, who also may join the fishing component.  There are three age groups and the biggest catch in each group, including the adult category, will receive a prize.

Quirin provided details about another event.

“We are going to do a lip-sync battle Friday night,” she said. “I’m not quite sure yet how it’s going to unfold but our goal is to have our St. Joseph County ‘Heroes’ compete against each other. So, we are advertising for St. Joseph County (law-enforcement agencies) to go against members of our St. Joseph County fire departments.”

Quirin said initial response was a bit light, so event organizers extended the offer to participate to police and fire representatives in Elkhart County.

“We really wanted to honor our local heroes and let it be a healthy competition where they don’t need to worry about their lives being on the line,” she said. “An event where they can be together and just have fun.”

Fireworks will be on display Friday, shooting from the grounds of Firm Foundation Ministries.

A Covered Bridge Days staple, the parade, begins at 6 p.m. Saturday.

“One other thing I wanted to mention is we will be having a charity dunk tank,” she said. “So, we’ll be putting volunteers in the dunk tank and they get to choose the charity. The hour that they are in the tank, 50 percent of the proceeds will go to the charity of their choice and the other half will go toward fireworks for the 2023 Covered Bridge Days.”

Additional information about this year’s Covered Bridge Days festival is available on  Facebook, bit.ly/3wmjths.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Covered Bridge Days slated for Friday and Saturday in Centreville