7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
History Comes Alive in Galesburg
Galesburg's Lake Storey Park will again be the site of the annual Heritage Days Festival.

The Civil War Re-enactment and Pre-1840's rendezvous festival steps off Friday night at 7:30 with the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean," provided by I-H Mississippi Valley Credit Union. A full day and night schedule of events is on tap Saturday, starting with the Black Powder Shoot for people to watch at 10 a-m at the Pre-1840's rendezvous camp.

Saturday's activities also include a Civil War battle, the Fair Wynds Circus, a fire starting contest at Noon, special appearances by Mr. and Mrs. Ben Franklin and the Civil War Ball at 8 p-m in the Beach Pavilion.

Heritage Days Organizer Bob Franey says Galesburg's event is one of the largest in Illinois in terms of the number of participants, and it's even bigger than some national events.

"We bring in anywhere between, I would say, easily 500 to 1,200 re-enactors depending on weather, economics and what activities are going on at the event."

Admission to Heritage Days remains free.

Franey says funding for this year's event was an issue, and he admits organizers got into what he called a panic mode because of the slow economy and the loss of sponsors. Officials raised money by selling $50 raffle tickets, some of which still remain and will be available at the festival. The grand prize is $3,000, along with additional prizes ranging from $1,000 to $100.
08 15 08 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.