Riley Festival

Terry Beagle,Kiwanian and long time Riley Festival Board Member with Anita Turner, Past President and Director Riley Festival.

Anita Turner, Past President and current Director of the Riley Festival spoke to Kiwanis about this weeks upcoming Riley Festival.  Anita serves a an Assistant Vice President of Greenfield Banking Company and has served on the Festival Board of Directors since 2005.

The Riley Festival is Indiana's largest four day festival celebrating the life of the Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley.It will be held in  downtown Greenfield, on October 3-6, 2019.   It began in it's current form in 1969 making this the 50th Anniversary of the Festival.  The Festival has exhibits and contests in Photography, Home Arts, Quilts, Fine Arts, Poetry, and Baking.  In addition we have a Queen Pageant and a Little Miss and Mr Riley Festival Pageant.  There are two parades.  The first is a parade of flowers on Friday, October 4 at 12:30 p.m. in which hundreds of school children place flowers at the statue of James Whitcomb Riley on the Hancock County Courthouse plaza.  The second parade features bands, floats, dignitaries, and the Festival Royalty.  It starts at 11 am, Saturday, October 6, at the Greenfield-Central High School and proceeds through downtown Greenfield. 

Four entertainment venues will provide free entertainment beginning Thursday and ending Sunday.  For a complete schedule of all Festival activities and entertainment go to rileyfestival.com.