Oorang Bang festival, Christian concert on tap this week in Marion

A celebration of Marion County's NFL franchise and a one-night Christian music festival will help kick off what is shaping up to be a busy summer locally. On the docket this week are the Oorang Bang street festival in La Rue and a benefit concert hosted by Crosswood United Methodist Church on behalf of Aspire Ministries featuring a host of local musicians.

Oorang Bang is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, June 9 and 10 at the former Elgin School site, 350 N. High St. in La Rue. Organizers said this year's festival is a continuation of the 100th anniversary of the Oorang Indians NFL franchise that called the village home for two seasons in 1922 and 1923. The centennial celebration began with last year's festival.

The Indians featured legendary all-around athlete and future NFL Hall of Famer Jim Thorpe as player/coach. While success on the field eluded the franchise, the lure of Thorpe's fame and personality and the fact that the roster was comprised entirely of Native American athletes attracted spectators in droves to their games.

NFL historian Chris Willis detailed the Indians brief history in his book "Walter Lingo, Jim Thorpe, and the Oorang Indians: How a Dog Kennel Owner Created the NFL's Most Famous Traveling Team." His book focused largely on the exploits of Indians owner Walter Lingo, who essentially used the team to promote his Oorang Kennels that specialized in breeding Airedale terriers, creating a national brand through his relentless advertising.

In addition to a broad array of vendors, food trucks, activities for adults and kids, the Oorang Bang features a strong lineup of musical talent from Marion County, including rising country music star Chad Clark from New Bloomington (Saturday, 4 p.m.), Omega Kick (Friday, 7 p.m.), Wulfman Jack (Saturday, 7 p.m.), The Marionaires (Saturday, 2 p.m.), Scott Cameron (Saturday, 12 p.m.), Ryan Ratliff (Friday, 5:30 p.m.), and the Elgin High School Band (Friday, 6:30 p.m.).

The festival car show kicks off the weekend's activities on Friday. It's scheduled from 3 to 7 p.m. and begin lining up at the Methodist Church. Awards will be presented at 7 p.m.

Mann Made Rustics woodcarving demonstrations will be available to view from 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday and from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday. Mann Made Rustics is a Delaware County business that specializes rustic and hand-carved woodwork. It is providing Airedale dog carvings to the festival that will be dedicated at 5:15 p.m. on Friday at the corner of High and School streets in La Rue.

A pancake breakfast will be open from 7 to 11 a.m. on Saturday. The beer garden will open at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and will be open from 3 to 11 p.m.

For information about the Oorang Bang, go to the La Rue Community Alliance website laruecommunityalliance.org. Oorang Bang is presented by the La Rue Community Alliance and the La Rue Firefighters Association.

Concert to benefit Aspire Ministries

Crosswood United Methodist Church in Marion is hosting an evening of Christian music on Friday, June 9 with all proceeds benefiting Aspire Ministries. The music begins at 7 p.m. at the church located at 1551 Richland Road in Marion.

According to its website, Aspire Ministries - a 501(c)3 non-profit ministry formerly known as Love, INC. - aims "to see churches working together in unity, committed to helping individuals and families in need grow toward self-sufficiency and transformation by the love of Christ. Individual churches cannot fully meet the needs of every person asking for help. It takes a faith community working together across denominational lines to meet the multi-faceted needs."

For information about Aspire Ministries, go to its website www.aspiremarion.org or call 740-751-6554. The office is located at 205 W. Center St. in Marion. Donations for the ministry will be accepted at the concert or can be made online at the Aspire Ministries website.

Julia Jones, worship music leader at Crosswood UMC, said musicians performing at the benefit concert are all from area churches, most of which are partners and supporters of Aspire Ministries. Churches participating include Crosswood United Methodist Church, Epworth United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church praise band, The Shepherd's Fellowship praise band, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, CenterPoint Church, Lee Street Presbyterian Church, Marion Christian Center, and Peace Community United Church of Christ of Waldo.

Jones said the concerts will be held in the sanctuary at Crosswood UMC and any overflow crowd is invited to listen to the music on their radios in the church parking lot. The concert will be broadcast at 106.5 FM on the church campus.

For information about the concert, contact Julia Jones at 740-802-2354 or the Crosswood United Methodist Church office at 740-389-1210.

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