Festival Committee News Release

NEWS RELEASE

TO: Area Media

FROM: Marcia Loader, The Advance, Blissfield, advance@cass.net 517-486-2400

CONTACT: Beccy Lamley, Festival president, blamley@hotmail.com 517-673-6666

RE: Blissfield River Raisin Festival NEW LOCATION

BLISSFIELD — Due to extreme flooding of the Blissfield River Raisin Festival grounds – Bachmayer and Ellis parks on the River Raisin – the festival will be moved to the Blissfield Community Schools campus, 640 S. Lane St., Blissfield, Friday-Sunday, July 11-13.

All events of the 25^th annual Blissfield River Raisin Festival presented by The Blissfield State Bank will go forward as planned, with the exception of tractor pulls, which require a special facility and will not be held. Most activities will be centered in the high school area, located between South Lane Street and Walnut Street on the south edge of Blissfield. The entrance for the festival will be off Walnut Street – just follow the River Raisin and take the right fork (Walnut Street) from South Lane Street, which is the main street in Blissfield’s downtown connecting to U.S. 223.

"This move represents tremendous cooperation among the Blissfield Community Schools, the village of Blissfield and the festival committee," said Beccy Lamley, festival president. "That ‘small-town spirit’ is what made this momentous and positive move possible. In a very short Sunday meeting, the entire festival move was planned and implemented. I know deep down in my heart that this is the best decision that our committee could have made."

The route for the 10:30 a.m. Saturday parade has been changed as well. Parade headquarters will be at Depot and Sugar streets and the actual parade will feed in from Depot Street and Veterans Avenue, traveling north on Depot Street to U.S. 223, two blocks west on U.S. 223, then south on South Lane Street to Sugar Street. The parade will not continue on to Walnut Street.

The volleyball tournament and the three-on-three basketball tournaments will be played in their original locations as scheduled, barring any more flooding this week. They are the only festival events to take place in Ellis Park. The softball tournament will be played on the girls JV softball field at the school. All other events will also be at the school.

"The fireworks – our largest in Blissfield history – will be visible from the school grounds; the three entertainment stages will operate as scheduled; the Disc-Connected K9’s Frisbee Dog Show; and every aspect of the festival will go off as publicized in our schedules. It will just be presented in this new venue and we are excited about how the new layout works. It’s very festival-goer friendly," Lamley said.

Festival entrance and all entertainment venues are free admission, thanks to sponsorship provided by area businesses. While free parking can be found throughout the village, a parking area operated by student athletes and Zion United Brethren Church will be available behind the new tennis courts at the Blissfield Middle School on a donation basis.

For details, go to the festival website at  www.blissfield.net.