Montgomery’s big summer festival – Montgomery Fest – opens Friday and runs through Sunday at Montgomery Park at 301 N. River St. in the village.
The annual festival will feature music, food, family activities, a carnival, a parade, a beer tent, fireworks and more.
The fest kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday, with musical performances by the Throwbacks at 5:30 p.m. and 52nd Street featuring the music of Billy Joel at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, a newly-expanded Family Fest will run from10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free entertainment and activities for all ages at Family Fest will include Miss Jamie’s Farm, Dave’s Traveling World of Reptiles, a bubble show, chalk with a cop, face painting, inflatables and more. Also, the American Martial Arts Academy will present a Tae Kwon Do demonstration.
Over on the main stage, Jeff and Kurts Acoustic Refreshment will play their acoustic covers starting at 11 a.m., followed by Vital Signs which will play the hits of the 1960s to today at 12:30 p.m. Serendipity will play pop and rock covers starting at 3 p.m. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Latin Swing Factor will play a blend of Puerto Rican salsa. At 8 p.m., Brass on Fire, a seven-piece horn band, will perform.
Also on Saturday, a craft show will take place on River Street between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The annual car show at the fest will be held at Austin Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday activities begin very early with the Carp Fishing Derby, which begins at 6 a.m. near the Mill Street Bridge. A church service will be held at 9 a.m. at the fest by New Life Community Church.
Musically on Sunday, American Cash, a Johnny Cash cover band, will perform at 11:30 a.m.; Wild Daisy, playing country, pop and rock music will perform at 2 p.m. Starting at 4:30 p.m. will be Crawfords Daughter, a mix of country, rock, blues and soul, and from 7 to 9 p.m. Whiskey Road will play rock and country music.
The annual Montgomery Fest Parade begins at 1 p.m. at the festival. The Rotary Club of Montgomery is hosting its Rubber Duck Derby in the Fox River beginning at 4 p.m. Montgomery Fest concludes at 9:30 p.m. Sunday with fireworks.
For an in-depth listing of each event, go to the village’s web page at https://www.montgomeryil.org/186/Montgomery-Fest.
Judy Pochel is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.