Montgomery’s annual summer festival is set to begin at 4 p.m. Friday, and will feature a carnival, parade, food, music and more.
The 39th annual Montgomery Fest, which will be held at Montgomery Park at 301 N. River St. in Montgomery, will run through Sunday.
Admission to the event is free, with cash recommended for food and carnival purchases. There will be two ATMs available at the site.
There will be 15 food vendors at the festival, as well as a beer tent sponsored by the Montgomery Foundation. Proceeds from sales at the tent will benefit local community programs, officials said.
There will be plenty of music at the event. On Friday, Jeff and Kurt’s Acoustic Refreshment, featuring acoustic rock, will perform at 4 p.m.; Cadillac Groove, a soul, funk and blues band, will play at 5:30 p.m.; with American English, a Beatles tribute band, going on stage at 8 p.m.
Music on Saturday will include Good Clean Fun, a party band, at 12:30 p.m.; Soul Sacrifice, a Santana tribute band, at 3 p.m.; Symple, a bilingual rock band, at 5:30 p.m.; and Sonoro Dinamita, a Colombian musical group, at 8 p.m.
On Sunday, the music will include Triple Replay, a classic rock band, at 10:30 a.m.; Vital Signs, which plays classic rock and pop hits, at 2 p.m.; Planet Groove, playing music from the 1960s to today, at 4:30 p.m.; and Hi-Infidelity, playing 1980s rock covers, at 7 p.m.
There will be carnival rides as well at Montgomery Fest. Daytime wristbands for unlimited rides will be available Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. for $30 per person. Night wristbands are available Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m. for $35 per person. The carnival area is cash only, officials said.
The fest’s Craft Fair and Market will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the parking lot at VFW Post 7452 at 121 N. River St., across from Village Hall and one block south of the fest grounds.
The fest will also include a variety of family activities on Saturday and Sunday, the annual car show at Austin Park at 1345 Broadway from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, the annual Carp Fishing Derby at 6 a.m. Sunday and more.
The Community Parade held during the festival will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday at Main and Mill streets and will wind through downtown on Main, Watkins and River streets before ending near Montgomery Park.
This year’s parade grand marshal will be retired Montgomery Police Sgt. Adam Kuncl, who was injured in the line of duty in 2012.
A new event this year is a fundraising rubber duck race down the Fox River, with proceeds going to the Rotary Club of Montgomery. Tickets are $20 for one or $100 for six and can be purchased at the festival. The grand prize is $1,000, with the winning duck being plucked out of the river during the festival on Sunday.
The fest will close Sunday evening with a fireworks show at 9 p.m. Montgomery Park is the best place to watch the fireworks, officials said.
For more information on the fest, go to https://www.montgomeryil.org/186/Montgomery-Fest.
Judy Pochel is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.