What to expect each day at the Haynes Apperson Festival

Jun. 29—Foster Park will be filled with automobile shows, live music and carnival rides Thursday through Saturday during the 2022 Haynes Apperson Festival.

Paul Wyman, festival chairman, said the festival will bring the same excitement as in previous years.

"What I get excited about the festival is seeing all of the people that come out to celebrate all that's great about Kokomo and Howard County," Wyman said. "This is our community's annual celebration. ... It's just truly, truly a fun three days."

Wyman said there will be 35-40 vendors serving refreshments at the festival.

"It'll be everything from lemon shake ups to elephant ears to deep fried Oreos, sausage sandwiches," Wyman said. "You name it, you'll be able to find it there. We'll have all kinds of fair food."

Thursday

Since the festival is meant to celebrate Kokomo's history, it will start with a tour of historical Kokomo sites. Antique and special-interest cars will gather at Grace Community Foursquare Church, 2020 S. Goyer Road, from 3-4 p.m.

The church is near Pumpkin Vine Pike (now Boulevard Street), where Elwood Haynes test drove the first commercially built gasoline-powered automobile. His joyride was on July 4, 1894.

Led by a Kokomo Motorcycle Police escort, the cars will depart at 5:15 and head west toward Webster Street. When the brigade reaches the Elwood Haynes Museum, where the inventor once lived, it will turn north toward Defenbaugh Street then east toward Main Street.

Going north on Main, the parade of antique and special-interest automobiles will be flanked by land used by the Haynes Automobile Company and the Kokomo Tire & Rubber Company, where the first pneumatic tire was developed. The site of the Apperson Brothers Automobile Company's factory is also on the stretch of Main Street.

Reaching Walnut Street, the automobiles will turn west on Walnut Street before circling back to the northern stretch of Foster Park.

People who are unable to join the commemorative drive to Foster Park are still invited to join the Pioneer Auto Club's cruise-in on Superior Street. The cruise-in is scheduled for 5-9 p.m.

Carnival rides will be open to all ages 5-11.

The headlining band, Here Come the Mummies, are scheduled to take the stage at 8.

Friday

The day's festivities begin at 5 p.m. with carnival rides and the Kokomo Street Scene Cruise-in.

Jefferson Starship is taking the stage at 8 p.m.

Saturday

The 46th annual Haynes Apperson Car Show marks the beginning of the day's festivities.

The car show is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with awards given out at 3:30.

Dave White, who organized the car show, noted the importance of recognizing Kokomo's automotive history. Weather permitting, he would like to bring Haynes and Apperson automobiles to the car show.

"It's so important to bring those cars out of the museum and educate people," White said, noting the automotive industry brought Crosley Radio, Delco electronics, Continental steel and Chrysler to Kokomo. "It's just a rollercoaster. Once we discovered natural gas here, we were off to the races. There was no stopping us."

White noted, though, that any car enthusiast is able to join the show. He aims to have newer cars alongside vintage and historical cars.

There will be several awards distributed at the car show. However, White said people entering the show shouldn't be worried about a rigorous "26-point crawl under inspection."

Instead, the show intends to celebrate cars with a backstory and the people excited about automobiles.

Categories include the Veterans Service Award, which honors people who served in the U.S. armed forces, and the Longevity Award, which will go to the person who has owned their car the longest.

Roughly $4,600 was allocated to door prizes. Free dinners at local restaurants contribute to a significant amount of the prizes. Hundreds of dollars worth of fireworks and a custom necklace from Watkins Jewelry are also included in the list of prizes.

The annual Haynes Apperson parade will be held downtown Saturday. Starting at the intersection of Walnut and Market streets, the parade will head north, turn west on Jefferson Street, then south on Main Street. The parade route stops at Sycamore Street.

The parade is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and a staging area will fill Union Street along Walnut, Mulberry and Taylor streets.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is headlining the show, scheduled for 8 p.m.

Following the concert, at 10 p.m., the festival will conclude with a fireworks show in Foster Park.

For more information, visit haynesappersonfestival.org.

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.