Galion Pickle Run Festival celebrates the 4th of July all weekend
By
GALION — The Galion Pickle Run Festival celebrates the Fourth of July early. The annual Independence Day celebration takes place Saturday, July 1 and Sunday, July 2, complete with baseball, a parade and fireworks.
“We think this is a good opportunity for you to come out and show your support for the local community and different organizations,” Pickle Run director Lisa Capretta said. “It’s a good way to give back to the community.”
Pickle Run Festival Photo Gallery 2017
The annual Pickle Run Festival takes place in Galion July 1 and 2. The festival offers family-friendly fun the weekend before Fourth of July.
Tracy Geibel
The festival kicked off early Saturday morning with the Galion YMCA’s triathlon and 5K run.
A new event, the Home Run Derby, was scheduled for Saturday morning, but postponed to Sunday at 10 a.m. because the field was too wet. But other games continued as planned.
A sand volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball and cornhole tournaments all took place throughout the day. Inflatable houses and other games were in constant use and will be open on Sunday, too.
Lillian Ebner, 11, spent some time in a dunk tank, which seemed to have a never-ending line.
“It’s a little scary,” Ebner said, comparing it to a roller coaster ride.
She enjoys seeing friends and family at the festival and says there’s “lots of stuff to do.”
Capretta believes this year’s Pickle Run Festival will attract around 10,000 people throughout the weekend.
“(Sunday’s) our busier day because people tend to come down and stay for the fireworks,” she said.
On Sunday morning, a community church service is set for 10:30 a.m. The annual car and cycle show will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A disc golf tournament will be offered at the Amann Reservoir in addition to another volleyball tournament and a basketball skills competition at the park.
A parade is scheduled at 2 p.m. It will begin on Church Street, follow Gill Avenue and conclude at Heise Park. A Galion Graders game will take place at 7:05 p.m., and the night ends with fireworks at dusk.
The Galion Pickle Run Festival began in 1978, but was canceled in 1998. After years without the event, Capretta said, a group brought it back a few years ago. Once held on Labor Day weekend, it was moved to a weekend near the Fourth of July.
The name “Pickle Run” comes from a story about a local businessman who dumped a bad batch of pickles into a creek in the 1890s.
More information, including a list of events, is available at the Pickle Run Festival’s website.
