5 p.m. -- SUPPER IN THE PARK -- Food tent in Memorial Park. Hosted by St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce Education Committee. Benefits the Joint Education Fund. Sponsored by Marv Ruppert Insurance and Mark Cisco, CPA.

5:30 to 6:15 p.m. -- IDAA SKITS -- Memorial Park Gazebo. Performed by McBroom Junior High School IDAA participants.

6:15 p.m. -- SUMMERFEST OPENING CEREMONIES -- Memorial Park. Flag raising ceremonies and introduction of 2000 SummerFest Queen and Court. American Legion Post 323 and VFW Post 9289 representatives participating in the flag raising. Music by Aaron Short.

6:30 to 7 p.m. -- AARON SHORT -- Memorial Park Gazebo. Performance sponsored by Creative Catering.

1 p.m. -- MIDWAY OPENS -- Rides by Carpenter Brothers.

5:30 to 6 p.m. -- DIAPER DERBY REGISTRATION -- Next to tent near Memorial Covered Bridge.

6 p.m. -- GALEN CISCO LITTLE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT -- K.C. Geiger Park. Benefits St. Marys National Little League.

6 to 6:30 p.m. -- BIG WHEEL RACE REGISTRATION -- South Street River Bridge.

9 a.m. -- 3-ON-3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT -- K.C. Geiger Park. Youth Only, grades 5-6 and 7-8 for the 2000-2001 School year. Sponsored by Sports-n-More and Locker Room Pizza.

Three players per team, Tee Shirts for each Player.

Registration Deadline is August 1, 2000. $15.00 per team. Click Here to register online, or use forms available at Sports-'N-More and Locker Room Pizza.

1 to 4 p.m. -- LIP SYNC AUDITIONS -- Memorial Park Gazebo.

2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, August 12 -- LIP SYNC CONTEST -- Memorial Park Gazebo. Sponsored by: Alltell Communications; Auglaize Equipment Rental; Celina Road Animal Clinic; Chivington Chiropractic; Con-Ag, Inc.; Delphos Tent and Awning; Fraternal Order of Eagles 767; Hirschfeld Excavating; Interim Personnel; Kellermeyer's Men's Clothing; Long and Folk Funeral Homes, Inc.; St. Marys Hardware; St. Marys Living Center; and T&P Auto Body Repair and Paint Center.

Pre-Register before August 10 - Click Here to register online.

Prizes for each age group. First Place: $100.00 ~ Second Place: $60.00 ~ Third Place: $30.00

Noon to 1 p.m. -- BOB TOBENS MEMORIAL KIDS' TRACTOR PULL REGISTRATION -- South Street in front of USWA LOCAL 200L Union Hall.

1:30 to 2 p.m. -- PET SHOW REGISTRATION -- Adjacent to Memorial Park Gazebo.

2:30 to 3 p.m. -- BED RACE REGISTRATION -- In front of Agape Store on South Street.

3 p.m. -- BED RACE -- South Street in front of Memorial High School. Sponsored by Laco Laundry and Dry Cleaning.

Pre-Register before August 10 - Click Here to register online.

Attention: anyone with 3 or more friends... The SummerFest Bed Races are no longer BYOB!

That's right - Do NOT Bring Your Own Bed to the annual Bed Races! the SummerFest Committee is providing beds for all teams!

All you have to do is...

1. Organize a team of 4-5 individuals from your company or organization. ($15 Registration Fee must be received before August 10. Team members will be required to sign waiver prior to competing.)
2. Dress in a theme or matching shirts, hats, etc. to represent your group.
3. Show up Sunday afternoon with a smile and ready for a good time!

Celebrity Time Trials

BUY TICKETS HERE

Duck Race

First Prize

5 p.m. -- DUCK RACE CELEBRITY TIME TRIALS -- St. Marys River. Sponsored by the K.C. Geiger Park Improvement Committee.

The Duck Race Celebrity Time Trials consists of two heats of six innertubers "racing" down the Duck Race course on the St. Marys River (see photo). The first three finishers in each heat qualify for the Finals.

All SummerFest weekend right up to the Time Trials start at 5:00 pm Sunday, wager tickets will be sold at the Duck Race Booth for $1.00 each. The purchaser will write his name, phone number and the name of one celebrity on each ticket, and place it in that celebrity's ticket bin. In this way, betting lines can be generated to provide "odds" on the participants.

After the Finals, one ticket will be drawn at random from the ticket bin of the winning celebrity, and that ticket's purchaser will win $100.00. The winning celebrity will be proclaimed "Anas Curriculum Deus" (Duck Race God) and crowned with whatever piece of trash the Duck Race Committee finds appropriate or handy.

The celebrities are volunteering their time and energies. They are only committed to show up, not necessarily to strive to win. For their trouble, they will receive a Duck Race tee shirt, a hearty handshake and, if requested, a thorough hosing-down when they come out of the river. Not to mention the fact that they will have a lot of fun.

Celebrities are chosen by invitation only. The Duck Race Committee looks for a mix of St. Marys folks who through their talents, occupations, or personalities are well known throughout the community, thus providing a "draw" for spectators and wagerers.

6 p.m. -- DUCK RACE -- South Street Bridge to Memorial Covered Bridge. Sponsored by the K. C. Geiger Park Improvement Committee.

Hundreds of thousands - well, hundreds, anyway (2,238 in 1999) - of numbered rubber ducks (one for each $5 ticket sold) are released on the St. Marys River as the nearby Memorial Park Clock Bell Tower strikes 6 o'clock. The unpredictable current carries the yellow rubber ducks 1/2 a furlong - about 120 yards - downstream at speeds measured in the tenths of a mile/hour.

Hundreds of thousands - well, thousands, anyway (no kidding) - of race fans come to the riverbank to watch the spectacle. Throwing stuff at the ducks or at the DUCK RACE officials in the water is considered bad form, and will draw stern rebukes from the knowledgeable fans (and especially from the DUCK RACE officials).

The ducks approach the finish line to qualify for prizes (107 prizes worth more than $10,000 in cash and merchandise in 1999). DUCK RACE officials in the yellow shirts and hats place the winners into the chute immediately. This year, the First Place Prize is a 1990 5.0 liter V-8 Mustang GT, sponsored by Larry Schaaf Auto Sales, Inc.

The Annual K.C. Geiger Park Improvement Committee St. Marys River SummerFest Duck Race is a fund-raising activity of (surprise!) the K.C. Geiger Park Improvement Committee, which is a non-profit organization. All proceeds from this event and other Committee functions are administered through the St. Marys Community Foundation. All donations, including the purchase of tickets, are tax-deductible.