By David Slone
Times-Union
MENTONE – The biggest three days of the year in Mentone begins Thursday with the kickoff of the annual Egg Festival.
There will be music, games, the ever-popular car show and some pageantry.
At 5 p.m. Thursday will feature flea markets, crafts and food vendors in the kids’ area. There’s more vendors this year at the festival than ever before.
The Bulldogs — formerly Spike and the Bulldogs — in memory of Russell and Leona Eber take to the stage at 7:30 p.m. in front of the fire station.
Friday’s activities begin at 11 a.m. in the tent with Bell burgers and more by the Bell Museum until close. Everything in the tent during the festival is for a not-for-profit organization, as well as a number of them along the street.
Wheels on Fire Cancer Crusaders will be involved in the festival, offering their food during the event. They also will be handling the silent auction Friday night, according to Mentone Chamber President Rita Price Simpson. “It’s a great cause and we’re happy to do that,” she said.
Uptown, the flea markets, crafts and food vendors will go from noon to 9 p.m., while inflatables and games go from 2 p.m. to dark.
The 28th Annual Egg Festival Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show starts at 4 p.m. on Tucker Street and downtown Mentone. This year, Echoes of the Past also will have a tractor show as part of the event, in the lot next to the fire station.
Price Simpson said that for the car show, they’ll have people from Peru, Fort Wayne and all over. She said it’s usually a different crowd Friday compared to Saturday, which is more local and family. There are always about 160 entries for the car show every year, she said. The Echoes of the Past tractor show will include an additional 30-40 vehicles.
Enjoy the 1950s and ’60s music from 6 to 9 p.m. uptown Friday, as well as the silent auction. The band Copper Bridges will perform from 6 to 9 p.m. on East Main Street at the barricade.
Saturday, start your day early with the pancake breakfast by the Tippecanoe Valley High School football team. It will be from 6 to 10 a.m. at the fire station.
Also at the fire station, you can register for the Egg City 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk from 6:30 to 7:45 a.m., which begins at 8 a.m.
The backyard barbecue cookoff starts at 9 a.m. in front of Hartzler Funeral Home. Awards for the cookoff will be at 4:30 p.m. at the fire station. More information can be found on the website at http://mentoneeggcity.com/egg-festival/. There is a kids division this year, with adult supervision.
The inflatables and games, flea markets, crafts and food stands begin uptown at 9 a.m., too.
The 3-on-3 boys and girls basketball tournament with TVHS coach Joe Luce begins at 9 a.m. in the parking lot by the fire station.
There are six tournament divisions – kindergarten, first grade, second grade; third-fourth grade, fifth-sixth grade, seventh-eighth grade, high school and open.
Final registration for the divisions that include kindergarten through eighth grade is at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, with the games beginning at 9 a.m.
Final registration for high school and open divisions is at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, with the games beginning at noon.
Teams and players can move up in grade divisions, but not down. Three games are guaranteed. Cost of the entry fee is $50 per team online and $60 day of tournament. All teams will play in the division of the oldest player on the team.
To register and for more information, visit http://mentoneeggcity.com/egg-festival/.
Judging of the parade entries is at 10 a.m. at the parade line-up site, with the parade starting at 11 a.m. downtown. Parade entries will be taken until Friday. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Family and Food” with parade marshal Phyllis Bowser.
Beginning at 11 a.m. in the tent is Real Deal Food by the Mentone United Methodist Church.
The Miss Chick and Mr. Rooster Contest begins at 12:30 p.m. on the stage, followed by the kids games at 1 p.m., the kiddie tractor pull at 1:30 p.m. and the egg toss at 2:30 p.m.
New this year is the Mentone United Methodist Church gospel concert in the tent at 4 p.m.
The cake walk, which benefits the TVHS cheerleaders, is at 6 p.m. at the fire station.
Winners of the cute baby contest are announced at 6:30 p.m. at the fire station, followed by the crowning of Miss Mentone at 7 p.m. Miss Mentone 2022 Carlee Snyder will pass her crown on to one of three contestants this year.
The festival concludes with music at 7:15 p.m. at the fire station and Family Feud at 7:30 p.m.
Simpson estimated that over the three days of the festival, around 7,000 people will attend.
