Growing Greenup - Old Fashion Days

Growing Greenup

Old Fashion Days

Anne Stephens

For The Ashland Beacon

This column will be dedicated to Greenup Old Fashion Days from now until the festival. Be sure to read each week to get details of what to expect in at one of the most long-running festivals in our area! I’ll focus on a different aspect of the event each week for the next three weeks. Downtown Greenup will be hustling and bustling again for Old Fashion Days beginning on Thursday, October 2 and continuing through Saturday Oct 4. I am hoping that we will get some cooler fall air to mix with the smells of vendor food and the sounds of music and laughter. Second only to Christmas, it is the most wonderful time of the year! 

Please visit www.greenupoldfashiondays.com for the detailed schedule of events and information about the artists who will share some outstanding music from the main stage. We are excited to announce that we will again have the stage in the First & Peoples Bank parking lot. And thanks to First & Peoples, we are upgrading to the same size stage that you see on Main Street! Because of fall break in our schools, we must have all student groups who come to perform on one day – Thursday, opening day. We LOVE our student performers and their families who come to be audience members. Our vendors love it too!

Vendor participation has grown and now reaches further up and down Main Street. The east end of town will be the focus for families with children. Thanks to the Greenup Public Library, their parking lot will be full of FREE inflatables. Yes – FREE!! Our library loves the kids in our community – Bookmobile, Story Hour, Splash Pad (coming soon) – just to name a few. You’ll also find the Art Show inside the library. More on that coming soon.

All of the contest registration forms can be downloaded and printed from the website. All events will have open registration on site, which is always in the gazebo in the courthouse square. That’s where you go for any sort of information you may need, during the event.

The Greenup Old Fashion Days Facebook page, Greenup County Tourism page, and the City of Greenup Tourism page. This is a great team that works together to make Greenup Old Fashion Days happen! ANNOUNCEMENT: The newly formed City of Greenup Tourism Board has become the underwriting sponsor of Greenup Old Fashion Days by donating $10,000 to sponsor multiple events at this year’s festival.

For example, Southern Ohio Axe Throwing will be with us all three days of the festival. Offering a 30 ft trailer set up for axe throwing. Hours will be 10am – 6pm. Details can be found on the website. You’ll notice more signage at the event and a dedicated parking area that is being donated to use for use by our friends at Greenup Farm Bureau. (The tractor show will be at the fairgrounds this year.)

The theme this year is everything scarecrow. The OFD committee encourages everyone in town, guests, and all vendors to decorate with scarecrows. There will be prizes for the most creative scarecrows throughout the event. Now in its 58^th year, Greenup OFD is working to bring locals and guests into Greenup for a family friendly fun experience that celebrates our local history and contributes to a stronger future.  

The 2025 Grand Marshal is the one and only, Amy Dowdy! OFD is excited to be able to thank her and honor her for her many projects that make downtown Greenup such a special place. The entire OFD Committee quickly agreed that the title of 2025 OFD Grand Marshal should go to our friend and fellow committee member, Amy Dowdy.

Amy is the leader of the Greenup Beautification Committee. The people who work together on the beautification projects are inspired by Amy and her special way of getting things done while equally having fun!   

Thursday morning’s Opening Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. signifies the beginning of the three-day celebration. The opening will include a welcome from the mayor, county judge exec, and honored guests. There is always a memoriam time when we honor those who are no longer with us since last year. We will also have a special time of honor and thanks to our military.  

We are running a campaign to find the first honorees of a new award that Greenup OFD will establish in 2025. We are looking for couples who have been married for 50 years plus. Any tie to Greenup is acceptable. The couple can live in Greenup, be from Greenup, or just visiting to celebrate in Greenup! This award will be presented by County Clerk, Andrew Imel and a deputy clerk from the marriage records section of the clerk’s office. If you or someone you know has been married for 50 years or more, please contact me and plan to attend the opening ceremony!  

Following the opening, the main stage AND F&P stage will be busy all day long with student groups from the Greenup County school district. (Both of our county independent schools will be out on fall break this year.) The Spelling Bee, sponsored by the Greenup County Retired Teachers Association, will take place at 10:30 a.m. inside the library.

Come and support our great kids! Watch the Old Fashion Days Facebook page for photos and announcements. Parents, the OFD committee would love for you to share your photos of your family having fun at OFD! We do have a photographer that works with the County Tourism Board who will be taking photos (thanks Shane Day) but we also love to see what you want to share. Tag Greenup Old Fashion Days on Facebook!

Thursday night is always Gospel Music night for OFD. Come and enjoy some great gospel music with your family and friends on Thursday evening after you have dinner from a food vendor, get a sweet treat, and shop with our great artisan/crafter vendors.

There are many musicians performing in the afternoons on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Please visit our Facebook page, website, or pick up a program at a local business for a full detailed schedule. The main entertainment on Friday is the Happytown Studios Game Show. You won’t believe all the pries that you can win – don’t miss it!

The main entertainment on Saturday evening is JoLeigh. Bobby Cyrus will be hosting the Talent Show on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 – Youth, 3:00 – Adults – that will lead right into the big OFD parade! Announcements of talent show winners will happen directly after the parade and those winners will immediately perform again for the crowd. Come and be part of that big moment as soon as the parade is over – we’ll just be getting started on the main stage!

The judging panel for the talent show will be made up of musicians who have performed at OFD at some time in past years. As always, there is big prize money up for grabs!

If you or someone you know aspires to become a professional performer, enjoys performing as a hobby, or sings at their church, Saturday is the time for them to take their own spotlight on the main stage to share a song! But do you have to sing in the OFD talent show? NO! The big stage, pro lights and sound system, and a big audience is exciting for any performer. Don’t miss your opportunity to experience it! Registration forms are online and can be completed at the event up to an hour prior to the start of the show.

There are so many other things going on that I can’t possibly mention them all! You can find a print copy of the full program in all businesses, or you can go online and visit the website. If you have questions, you can call me at 606.922.1596 or the co-chair, Bambi Reed at 606.923.9101. For information specific to the Children’s Pageant, Costume Contest, or Bike Race, call Amy at Greenup People’s Bank. Car Show, call Todd at 606.694.5575. Parade, call Amy at 606.922.2876. Vendor needs, call Pat at 606.615.1227 or email Rhonda at clayandthread@gmail.com. Talent Show and Art Show, call 606.922.1596. Dog Show, call Cathie 606.831.5834.   

Don’t miss this historic event in downtown Greenup! It is a wonderful time to get outside, enjoy the talents of our local people, and spend some time actually talking and visiting in person as opposed to our modern-day digital communication. You’ll be glad you did! I’ll see you there.

For more information, contact Anne Stephens, Agent for Fine Arts and Community Development in Greenup County. 606.836.0201 anne.stephens@uky.edu 35 Wurtland Avenue, Wurtland, KY 41144 Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability. University of Kentucky, Kentucky State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Kentucky counties, cooperating.