Have Fun at the Fulton County Round-Barn Festival

The Round Barn Festival in Rochester, Indiana, begins on Thursday, June 11, at 7:00 p.m. and runs through Saturday, June 13, this year. This Round Barn Festival includes all of Fulton County, where Rochester is located. It is the 39^th annual Round Barn Festival to be held in Rochester.

If you have never seen a round barn, they are quite unique. All of the round barns I have seen are painted red, and they are round. Some of the barns are larger than others, and I'm sure there are some miniature barns. They are used for the same purposes as regular barns.

The Round Barn Festival holds a Queen Contest on Thursday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m. for the kick-off. This contest will be held on 'main stage,' downtown Rochester. There will be six young ladies competing for the title of Queen. The six are all either graduating seniors this year, or will be seniors in the next school year at Rochester High School. The six contestants will be judged on many categories, similar to the Miss-America Contest.

There will be a book sale at the Fulton County Public Library, beginning on Thursday evening for Friends of the Library. The sale will continue on Friday, June 12^th, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on Saturday, June 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for everyone. All sales will be held at the Fulton County Public Library in Rochester. This is one of my favorite events of the Festival. All of the books are just $0.25 per book, no matter what their size or cover.

There will be children's carnival rides, and other types of entertainment on Friday and Saturday. Three Round-Barn tours are scheduled throughout those two days. A twilight parade is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Friday with floats, fire department, police department, V.F.W. trailer with a cannon, and a float with the chosen Festival Queen and much more.

On Friday, June 12, from 9:00 p.m., to 11:00 p.m., the Undercover Blues Band will entertain on the main stage. On Saturday, June 13, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., the Ernie Givens and the White Lies Band will make music on main stage.

On Saturday, June 13, there will be a golf scramble at Round Barn Golf Club at Mill Creek and a pet parade. There will also be some contests including bubble gum blowing, watermelon seed spitting and pie eating.

There will be a strawberry shortcake social on Saturday, sponsored by one of our local churches. It will take place on the courthouse lawn from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

There will be many food and drink vendors on Main Street within the three blocks that are set apart for the Festival. Also, there will be a Balloon Man.

Come and enjoy.

Sources:

Personal Experience
Rochester Sentinel, June 8, 2009, Special Edition