30th Annual Popeye Picnic in Chester, Illinois: September 11-13, 2009

Popeye the Sailor rules in Chester, Illinois during the annual Popeye Picnic, September 11-13, 2009. The theme is "Popeye's Adventures in Little Egypt", an old nickname for Southern Illinois, a region with towns named Cairo and Thebes.

Highlights includes the unveiling of a statue of Olive's pop, a Popeye Film Festival, and the return of the Popeye Parade.

New Statue

The annual event draws Popeye fans from around the world. Chester native Elzie Segar (1894-1938) created Popeye as a minor character in his strip, Thimble Theater, in 1929, and the squinting sailor took over the strip. The story is that Segar's friends in Chester were the template for characters like Olive Oyl and the burger-scarfing Wimpy.

Worth a visit is Chester's greatest landmark, a six-foot bronze Popeye statue in Segar Park at the foot of the Chester Bridge over the Mississippi River which fans can visit before joining the festivities. Dedicated in 1977, the statue is a natural for photographs.

But the Popeye statue isn't the only one honoring Segar. There are other statues that have joined Popeye in recent years depicting characters from the Popeye universe. Wimpy is at Gazebo Park in the downtown district, Olive, Swee' Pea, and the Jeep are at the courthouse, and Bluto, unveiled last year, stands at B.V. Bank. Fans can also attend this year's unveiling of the statue of Castor Oyl, Olive's pop, at the annual Popeye Picnic on Saturday at 1pm at Chester Memorial Hospital.

Even more Popeye characters are being added annually to join the community's collection.

Popeye Mueseum

On the corner across from Wimpy's statue at Gazebo Park is the Popeye Museum located at Spinach Can Collectibles, open during the picnic Friday and Saturday from 9am to 11pm, and on Sunday from 9am until 6pm.

More Events

The pugnacious sailor gets his own parade, of course, with Popeye's Parade start at 11:30pm Saturday.

In fact, would-be cartoonists wanting to follow in the footsteps of Elzie Segarwill find a one-hour program on Cartooning with the Pros scheduled for 3pm on Saturday at the Chester Library.

Animals figure prominently in the event with Swee' Pea's Petting Zoo in Gazebo Park Saturday and Sunday, Popeye's Pet Show Sunday (1:30pm), Wimpy's Weiner Dog Derby Sunday (3pm), and the Illinois Birds of Prey demonstration Saturday afternoon (2pm).

Movies and Music

The Popeye Film Festival is Saturday night at 10pm at Gazebo Park.

There will be plenty of music through the weekend from DJ's as well as performances by the live bands AOTA, and Tempting Eve (Fri), Aux Sable Embers, Dan Erickson, Of Human, The American Life, Unmerited, Voyager (Sat), Charlie and the Girls (Fri and Sun), and One Man Band (Fri, Sat, and Sun).

There are numerous other events throughout the weekend, from 5/10 L Volksmarch, Goon Island Sand Sculpturing and Castor Oyl's Carnival Rides to juggling, pony rides, and a Bluto lookalike Contest.

Food vendors will be set up at State Street Plaza.

Details

Admission, parking, and entertainment are free.

For more information on the schedule, a map, directions, photos from past picnics, and more, refer to the picnic website at http://www.popeyepicnic.com/stories.shtml#1246564996.