UTICA — Parking was limited in downtown Utica on Wednesday evening as the start of the 76th Annual Utica Homecoming Fall Festival kicked off with a large parade. Spectators lined the streets as the Utica Volunteer Fire Department, police department, Utica High School Marching Band, school groups, community organizations, businesses, churches, and many others participated in this celebrated event.
“The Utica Homecoming got started back in the 1920s,” said Scott Gilbreath general chairman for the festival for over seven years. Although they are unsure of the exact date, Gilbreath explained that by information acquired through local research, the festival has about 76 years of tradition in Utica.
“It started out as a fall festival in town, a one-day event, and then it eventually grew to a two-day event, three-day event and now it is a present four-day event,” he said. “The fire department took it over in 1988 from the American Legion, and we have had it ever since.”
According to Gilbreath, the Utica Homecoming Fall Festival produced the first-ever pet parade in the United States. “And the pet parade that was put together started in 1930 on the grounds of the Union School, which is now our old Utica Elementary School here.”
“We have amusement rides, lots of good food, arts and crafts; two parades, Wednesday and Saturday; a cruise-in on Saturday, and nightly entertainment,” said Gilbreath. “Just a little bit of everything for everybody.”
Food vendors, game stalls, rides, craft booths and much more lined Main Street as a large crowds mingled among the spectacle. Each evening there will be live entertainment. Those lined up to perform include: Today, The British Invasion; Friday, Bobby Nichols & Turning Point; Saturday, Akron Southbound.
The cake auction is one of the most popular events that brings in supporters from all over.
“It is on Saturday evening between six and eight o’clock. We have a lot of supporters on that. The high school and junior high students do a good job in baking the cakes and bringing them down,” said Gilbreath.
The festival has been an important part of the community for more than a half a century. “We had very good support from the people around here. The fire department, itself, doesn’t make hardly anything off of it, but we do it as a community event because we all grew up with it here and we don’t want to see it fade away,” he said.
With the unstable economy making leisure activities lower on the priority list of household budgets, the festival has seen a decrease in participation from the public and vendors alike, but they hope that this year the community will continue to show their support for the fire department.
“The economy has hit the fire department really bad with fuel and everything, our run value has doubled from what it was last year and it has drained us really thin,” Gilbreath said. The Utica Volunteer Fire Department and Utica EMS are hoping the proceeds raised during the festival will help in expenses not covered by grants.
This four-day event runs through Saturday.
