CENTERBURG — Centerburg Memorial Park was rockin’ Wednesday evening at the start of the Heart of Ohio USA Days Festival.
Highlighting the evening’s festivities was a performance by Beautiful Warfare, a Christian rock band, which energized the crowd with soulful lyrics and rockin’ sounds. The band — comprised of drummer Joel Broton, bass guitarist Willie Wiswell, lead singer and guitarist Jake Turner, and guitarist Aaron Wright — played nine original songs.
“I think they are awesome, this is my type of music,” said Sue Turner of Johnstown.
“We really like them,” said Erin Lathey of New Albany, who was at the festival with her daughter, Taylor. “They are really good and they write their own music, which is all Christian-based.”
“I like the sound of the music but the lyrics are what really move me. It’s very uplifting and inspiring,” said Taylor.
Erin has been coming to the festival for years and finds she can do a lot of early Christmas shopping at the booths.
“I’ve really enjoyed myself. Country fairs are so much better than the big ones; everything’s so nice here and you can have a really good time,” she said.
Gabrielle McCoy of Centerburg brought her friend, Zanna Bruth of New Holland, to the festival for the first time.
“I come here every year. This is nice to be able to hang out with all my friends when school’s out. I brought Zanna so she could see what it’s like,” said McCoy.
“We don’t have anything like this in my town,” said Bruth.
The friends rode the Ferris wheel, and indulged in French fries and lemonade.
Madison O’Bryan and Macyn Frazee of Mount Vernon were out with their families.
“We had fun on the sports car, but we like Zero Gravity the best,” said O’Bryan.
Barb Hawkins of Centerburg attended with her daughter, Hannah.
“We come here every year,” said Barb. “It’s something we look forward to; this is a big kickoff to the summer season.”
Hannah said she likes the rides the best.
“I’ve ridden [Zero Gravity] three times,” she said. “It was fun.”
“We really enjoy coming here. We’ll return for the rest of the festival days, especially Saturday night for the fireworks,” said Barb.
The festival continues through Saturday.
