Cedarville Hosts Annual Labor Day Celebration

This weekend marks the beginning of the annual CedarFest celebration in Cedarville, Ohio. Varying events take place in downtown Cedarville from Saturday, Aug. 30, to Monday, Sept. 1, to celebrate Labor Day.

James H. Kyle, who introduced the bill to the Senate proposing Labor Day a legal holiday, is a Cedarville native, making the small town the birthplace of this national holiday.

Some of the featured events of the weekend are the fireworks, fireman’s pancake breakfast, Labor Day parade and battle of the bands. In addition, there is a carnival-style celebration at Cedar Park with Cedarville vendors, dunk tank and corn hole tournament.

This family-friendly event also offers a fishing derby for kids, little Mr. and Miss Cedarfest contest, inflatable bouncers and a kid’s tractor pull.

CedarFest has something fun for people of all ages. One community favorite is the pancake breakfast held on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Monday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the fire department. In addition to pancakes, the firemen are serving all-you-can-eat eggs, sausage, home fries, coffee and juice.

On Sunday, HeartSong from Cedarville University will be leading worship before the community church service organized by Grace Baptist Church in the Cedar Cliff High School gym. Later that day, college-age performers can participate in a battle of the bands. Sunday concludes with fireworks, which can be viewed from Cedar Park.

When students were asked what they were most looking forward to about the festivities, everyone was excited for something different. Bethany Bradley, a sophomore, said she is most excited to “stuff her face with pancakes” at the annual firehouse pancake breakfast.

Raseena Jacob, a first year Cedarfest attendee, said she hopes to explore the hidden gems of CedarFest. She plans to attend the quilt show held by the Historical Society throughout the weekend, expecting it to be a “quaint expression of the small-town Americana Cedarville embodies.”

Kari Morris is a junior psychology major and a reporter for Cedars. When she isn’t shooting for the CU pistol team, Kari loves playing Guitar Hero with friends and pulling pranks on her unit-mates.