This year’s Pemberville Free Fair has lined up numerous fun activities.

Kelli Bohland, president of the fair board, and her crew have put together four days of entertainment and activities that are sure to delight people of all ages. The fair runs Wednesday through Saturday.

“We have put a lot of thought into planning this year’s fair,” Bohland said. “We came up with great ideas that everyone should enjoy.”

Bohland said she likes to think of the Pemberville Free Fair as a smaller version of a county fair.

The term “free fair” does not apply to the Pemberville event by accident. There is no charge for admission and almost all of the activities, except for the amusement rides, are free.

A big part of the fair will be two parades, a kiddie parade on Wednesday and a grand parade on Saturday.

One facet of the kiddie parade, which starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, is the Fun On Wheels event that includes strollers, tricycles and bicycles.

“We will have them decorate their (devices) in different themes,” Bohland said.

Two of the themes are patriotic and nursery rhymes.

The grand parade kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday and features marching bands, twirling groups and area high school sports teams.

The route for the grand parade starts on College Avenue and runs down Memorial Drive and turns down Front Street in the downtown area. The route ends on Front and Hickory streets.

“This will be a huge parade, and it will take a couple of hours, so we expect it to go until around 3 o’clock,” Bohland said.

Wolf Creek Project.

Wolf Creek Project photo

Music will play a big part in the local event. A dance party with a DJ is slated for Wednesday, starting at 8:30 p.m.

“We will have live bands on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights,” Bohland said. “We will also have an acoustic show from 5 to 6:30 Saturday.”

The location of the main stage has changed this year. It will now be inside a tent at Memorial Park.

“It used to be in an open-air area in the past,” Bohland said.

Brother Believe Me.

Brother Believe Me photo

Another event for the younger attendees is the free bingo on Wednesday afternoon from 1:30-3:30 p.m., and on Thursday from 3-4:30 p.m. an Odds and Evens game is scheduled.

The Odds and Evens game is a tournament-style game where the kids will stand on colored squares, Bohland said.

“A roll of the dice determines which kids guessed correctly, either an odd or an even number. The ones who guessed it right will move on the board.”

The first one to reach the end of the board is the winner.

Screaming Heathens.

Screaming Heathens photo

Winners of each round will go on to compete to determine the big winner of the event.

The game is limited to the first 36 entrants, Bohland said.

Another event planned for 5-6:30 p.m., is Glovation Circus.

“Glovation Circus is an event that has people dress up in costumes who come in a group. They have kids join in and play games that each them balancing games and games with hoops. It’s a learn and play event.”

A children’s pedal tractor pull event is slated for 5 p.m. Thursday in the library parking lot.

A Cupcake Walk is scheduled for Friday at 3:30 p.m. for the kids, and a scavenger hunt will start at 5 p.m.

“The kids will gather at the Boy Scouts’ Building and the scavenger hunt involves the entire fairgrounds. They will come back to the Boy Scouts’ Building at the end. Everyone will receive a prize,” Bohland said.

Both kids and adults are invited to participate in a T-shirt challenge contest Thursday from 5-10. The event features themed T-shirts from current and past fairs.

Other events at the fair include a 50/50 raffle, with the winning ticket drawn Saturday.

While there has never been a head count for the fair, people from all around the state, and even from other states, have attended fairs in the past.

“We have been told that people use their vacation times to come to the fairy. They see it as an opportunity to come visit friends and relatives who live in the area,” said Bohland, who has been on the fair board since she graduated from Eastwood High School in 2004.

Entertainment lineup

(all entertainment here is at the entertainment tent)

GLOvation Circus

Thursday, 5-6:30 p.m., watch the show and play.

Wolf Creek Project

Thursday, 7:30 p.m., cover band from Northwest Ohio.

Brother Believe Me

Friday 8:30-11 p.m., BBM plays a wide array of songs, from Bruno Mars to Imagine Dragons and Michael Jackson. Come sing along and dance.

Bob Stevens

Saturday 5 p.m., he’s back by popular demand.

Screaming Heathens

Saturday 8 p.m., a party band with a diverse group of vocalists and musicians.