Addison Heritage Days festival is Saturday, Aug. 13

ADDISON — Addison's second annual Heritage Days Festival is Saturday, Aug. 13, and promises to be filled with music, games, events and good times.

The day kicks off at 8 a.m. at the Addison Senior Center at 117 N. Steer St. The seniors will have a pancake breakfast for donations until 10 a.m.

At 9 a.m., the 3.2 Miles for Mental Health walk/run will honor the life of 15-year-old Addison High School student-athlete Isiah Stephens. It’s 3.2 miles because 32 was Stephen’s number in school. The funds will go toward supporting mental health programming in Addison schools.

So far, there have been more than 150 registrations for the walk/run, which will start at the Addison Fire Department at 319 E. Main St. Registration prior to the walk/run is $25. It's $30 the day of the event. To register, go to tinyurl.com/32mileswalkrun. Any questions can go to Shane Morse at Addison_youth_basketball@yahoo.com. Donations can also be made at that link.

Co-chair of the festival Andrea Woodring said a group of people united with the same vision to start the festival last year to revive the village. The village council was more than accommodating and supported the project with all available resources.

“It began as kind of a last-ditch effort to save our little village and to perk things up. Now many of us who are involved in the festival remember how it used to be and how great our town is and we want to share that pride.” Woodring said. “Our town has quite still profound lineage. Our parents, grandparents, many of our students today are from multiple generations of people who went to Addison Community Schools. Even as the economy and things have dwindled, our town, our spirit is still large, and we wanted to keep that spirit going and revive our small-town feeling.”

The various athletic groups in the school are putting on their own booths along with the band boosters and parent-teacher organization and vendors with crafts and games for the kids. The basketball team is having a free throw shooting contest with prizes at about noon in Dick Sroufe Park.

The Addison High School Marching Band will also be holding a fundraiser cornhole tournament at 5 p.m. on Main Street. Sign up is the day of at the DJ booth.

The Addison Panther Radio Station minicourse school project will have a live broadcast at the festival on 95.7 FM, and there will be a petting zoo, food trucks, craft vendors and a DJ/karaoke contest that will take place at 5 p.m. The night wraps up with fireworks at 10 p.m.

“We’re just reviving our little town in the wholesome spirit, 'It takes a village … to raise a child,'” Woodring said. “Come and experience our small town vibe and share as we celebrate our history with a fresh perspective.”