Midvale Miners Jubilee to be held Sept. 8-10
The members of the Midvale Miners Jubilee committee met recently at the pavilion at Midvale Park. Pictured are Randy Cadle, front left, Donna Kohler, Stephenie Wilson, Lynette Kopp; back row, Vicki and Mark Bassett, William Weaver, Candie and Rod Wilson, and Midvale Mayor Larry Kopp.
A combination of two old festivals will unite as one when the new Midvale Miners Jubilee is held Sept. 8-10 at the Midvale Community Park in Midvale. A committee established in January put together a schedule of events including entertainment by the bands Badstone and LaFlavour.
Other activities include food vendors, a beer garden, a car show, crafters, Canal Dover Red Legs Baseball, a 5k run/walk, bounce houses, the reenactors mountain encampment, Kids Day and professional wrestling.
“We’re duplicating the old festival, the Midvale Miners Festival, and combining it with an event the Midvale Lions Club had in the late-1960s, 1970s and mid- to late-1980s,” committee member Candie Wilson said.
There will be a variety of food available at the festival. The food vendors scheduled to attend are DiRusso’s Italian Sausage, Backwoods Smokehouse, Risher’s Homemade Ice Cream, Zontini wood-fire grilled pizza, Kona Ice, Michael’s Confections, Don Polo’s and the Midvale Methodist Church with a food stand.
The schedule for the festival is as follows:
—Friday, Sept. 8: Food vendors, beer garden and inflatables will open at 4 p.m. with a small charge to use the inflatables; a welcome by the mayor and auction of memorabilia will be at 6 p.m.; and Badstone will perform at 8 p.m.
—Saturday, Sept. 9: Check-in and registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. for the run/walk; the 5k run/walk will be at 9 a.m.; the Canal Dover Red Legs Old Fashioned Baseball game will be at 10:30 a.m.; food vendors, beer garden and inflatables will open at 11 a.m.; Kids Day activities will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the baked goods/pie auction will be at 2 p.m.; and LaFlavour will perform at 7 p.m.
—Sunday, Sept. 10: Midvale Methodist Church will hold a service at the park at 10 a.m., food vendors and inflatables will open at 11 a.m., New Towne Cloggers will perform at noon, the car show will be at 1 p.m., and Powerslam pro wrestling will be at 2 p.m.
“It is professional wrestling with a full-size ring,” committee member Mark Bassett said. “It’s not WWF, but each member is a professional wrestler, and I believe they are going to do a royal rumble.”
Bullseye Ax Throwing will be available for a charge at the event. Other activities include caricatures by Marcie Dryden. On Kids Day there will be games provided by the Claymont Public Library and face painting. The Tuscarawas County Health Department also will have a table at the event, and there will be a display of Midvale’s history in the pavilion.
Wilma Mullett, executive director of the Tuscarawas Arts Partnership, will be at the festival with a LoveTusc sculpture to show, and she will accept donations to complete the LoveTusc sculpture for Midvale.
Some of the auction items include a quilt with historic photos of Midvale printed on the fabric, three afghans, American Bear décor and five numbered plates honoring the Midvale Lions Club.
The members of the Midvale Miners Jubilee believe it’s important to keep the village’s history alive.
“Younger kids, unless they come to the festival, wouldn’t know much about the history. Our whole town was based on all the miners. Over the years they devoted their lives to working (in the mines), providing for their families and raising their kids. It's imperative that we keep it going,” committee member Randy Cadle said.
Remembering the people who once lived in the area is important too. The festival will have a memorial banner on display as a way for families to remember their loved ones.
The committee includes William L. Weaver, Mark and Vicki Bassett, Randy and Donna Cadle, Stephenie Wilson, Rod and Candie Wilson, Midvale Mayor Larry Kopp and his wife Lynette, Donna Kohler, and Brenda Stafford.
Midvale Miners Jubilee sponsors include Addy Polaris, BLT LLC, Buckeye Landscape & Design, C & K Automotive, Cronebaugh Auction Services, Dirty Dog Car Wash, DK’s Bar & Grill, Dover-Phila Federal Credit Union, Flex Technologies Inc., First National Bank of Dennison, Herron Heating & Cooling, KDRP (Keurig Dr. Pepper), Kimble Companies, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, Midvale Auto Body and Detail, Midvale Lions Club, Midvale Methodist Church, Renner & Daughter Concrete Construction, Rich Industries Inc., Signs & Graphics by Coney, Smith Ambulance, Superior Mobile Homes, TDT Septic & Excavating, Thrasher Engineering, Truck Sales & Service, Tusco Rifle Club, Tusky VFW, Twin City Kids, Willandale Golf Sales, Wood Electric and more.
More information is available on Facebook at Midvale Miners Jubilee.