Gabe Stark
Reporter

The Missouri Day Festival will return to Trenton Friday through Sunday, Oct. 16-18, with vendors and family activities Friday and Saturday, a parade and marching band competitions Saturday and bingo Sunday at the North 65 Center.

Presented by the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce, this year’s festival will carry the theme “Stars, Stripes and Show Me Pride.” Vendors at the fairgrounds will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.

Kayla Graham, director of the Chamber of Commerce, said most festival arrangements will remain similar to recent years except for opening ceremonies.

“We will not be having opening ceremonies this year,” the chamber director said.

The Ministerial Alliance also discontinued its soup supper and pie event last year.

On Oct. 16 and 17, shopping areas will include the flea market, Rock Barn, the courtyard and pavilion. Food vendors and trucks will be on site along with inflatables, face painting, carnival games and the PAWS sensory trailer from Pediatric Autism & Wellness Services.

“Just a lot of fun things going on,” Graham said.

The Grundy County Museum will have a display in the art building in the courtyard that Friday and Saturday. Crowder State Park will offer free Missouri Day Fall Colors Bus Tours on those days as well. Tours will depart every 30 minutes between 1 and 4 p.m. each day. Participants should meet at the park’s equestrian parking lot.

The baby show, sponsored by GH MOMCO, will be held on Friday in the pavilion show ring. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m., with the show starting at 6 p.m. For information, contact Heidi Rice at (785) 304-0640.

The Missouri Day Parade, sponsored by the Trenton Rotary Club, will begin at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 17 at Crowder Road and Main Street. Entries will travel north on Main Street, turn east onto Ninth Street and continue to Eastside Park. Marching bands will leave the route at Normal Street.

Band competitions will continue throughout Oct. 17 in C.F. Russell Stadium and the Trenton High School gym. A competition schedule is available at missouridaysmarching.com.

At a festival planning meeting, band organizer Philip Ray said approximately 20 to 21 bands were expected, representing about 1,500 to 1,600 music students.

On Oct. 17, volunteers will direct buses and equipment trailers into designated staging areas, where other vehicles will not be allowed.

The Band Booster fundraiser will sell doughnuts from Countryside Bakery in Jamesport beginning at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 17, in the Welcome Center area at the festival entrance. Sales will continue until sold out.

An FFA petting zoo will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that Saturday in the festival livestock pavilion.

The North 65 Center will host a country dance featuring Silverado from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 17. Adult admission is $12, and a concession stand will be available.

The center will also host special bingo Sunday, Oct. 18. Doors open at 12:30 p.m., and games begin at 2 p.m. A concession stand will be available. For information, call (660) 359-3058 or (660) 359-3836.

Graham said festival preparations will begin Wednesday, Oct. 14, with vendors allowed to start setting up Thursday, Oct. 15. Setup on Oct. 16 begins at 7 a.m., and vehicles must be removed from the festival area by 10 a.m., an hour before opening.

Organizers and public safety representatives are coordinating traffic control, volunteer assignments and emergency access. Barricades, cones and pylons will be used for necessary street closures and walking paths, with access for emergency vehicles included in the planning.