Pioneer picnic celebrates 133 years

Aug. 26—PIERPONT — Nasty weather interrupted the flow of the Pioneer Picnic on Friday evening, but Saturday provided sunny weather for games, food and entertainment.

The Pioneer Picnic was holding the 133rd event on land it owns in rural Pierpont Township.

June Sackett and Julie Martin, two of the picnic's committee members, have been coming to the event since their parents brought them as children.

They keep the event rolling along but need more volunteers to add events to the picnic, Martin said.

The picnic has been billed as one of the longest-running festivals in Ohio and started as a reunion for the Russell Groves family in the 1890s.

The event celebrates rural life with a variety of games, entertainment and food along with vendors who sell their wares.

"The weather was a little horrible [on Friday evening]," Sackett said. She said they kept the event rolling, however, and a band played until 11 p.m.

The committee meets regularly to plan the picnic.

"We try to start in the early spring and meet at least once a month, but when the picnic gets close we meet once a week," Martin said.

"A lot of people we grew up with still come out," Sackett said.

The festival continued Sunday with Barry and His Jamming Buddies performing gospel music and stagecoach rides planned.

There was also a beard contest at 1 p.m. and a pie-baking contest at 2 p.m.

A variety of games were part of the fun for children and a very tall clown, assisted with stilts, roamed the grounds thrilling children with his orange and purple costume. Bryan Forbes said the children even reacted positively on Friday evening when he was in his Grim Reaper garb.