Tuesday, July 19, 2016 | C1
Journal Gazette & Times-Courier
Bagel Gazette
TUESDAY, JULY 19 www.jgtc.com
2016 BAGELFEST SCHEDULE OF EVENTS All events are being held at Mattoon’s Peterson Park unless otherwise stated
TUESDAY 6 p.m., Bagel Baby Contest, day one, Cross County Mall 6 p.m., Little Miss Bagelfest Contest, Williams Elementary School 7:15 p.m., Book of Golden Deeds presented, Williams Elementary School 7:30 p.m. Miss Bagelfest Contest, Williams Elementary School
WEDNESDAY 6 p.m., Bagel Baby Contest, day two, Cross County Mall 6-10 p.m., carnival opens 6-10 p.m., armband day at carnival
THURSDAY 5 p.m., food and vendors open 6-10 p.m., carnival open 6-11 p.m., vendors open 6-9 p.m., bingo in the DeMars Center 8-10 p.m., contemporary Christian music Citizen Way, main stage; please bring lawn chairs Mattoon Pride Tourney, Roundhouse Complex
FRIDAY 1-11 p.m., carnival open 1-5 p.m., armbands for carnival 1 p.m., vendors open 6-9 p.m., bingo in the DeMars Center 5-11:45 p.m., beer tent open 7-11:30 p.m., live music with band Squealer, beer tent 8-10 p.m., Rachel Holder and Jason Pritchett, main stage; gates open at 6 p.m. Mattoon Pride Tourney, Roundhouse Complex
SATURDAY 5:30-6 a.m. registration, Run for the Bagel, Mattoon Area Family YMCA 6:30 a.m., start, Run for the Bagel, KC Summers 8-10 a.m., free bagel breakfast, DeMars Center 8 a.m., vendors open 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., “Dragonflies” live entertainment, Rotary Band Shell 10:30 a.m., Bagelfest parade, downtown Mattoon Noon-11 p.m., carnival open Noon-4 p.m., armband at carnival 1-5 p.m., bingo in the DeMars Center 1:30 p.m., registration for Bagel Bow Wow contest, Rotary Band Shell 2 p.m., Bagel Bow Wow contest, Rotary Band Shell 5-11:45 p.m., beer tent open 7-11:30 p.m., X-Krush plays, beer tent 8-10 p.m., Chase Bryant, main stage; gates open at 6 p.m. Mattoon Pride Tourney, Roundhouse Complex
ONLINE www.mattoonbagelfest.com www.mattoonymca.org
JOURNAL GAZETTE&TIMES COURIER
‘Take Me Out to the Bagelfest’ is theme for 2016 festivities ROB STROUD rob.stroud@lee.net
MATTOON — The crowds at Bagelfest are typically dotted with uniformed girls’ softball players watching the parade, eating corn dogs, and checking out the concerts. City Tourism and Arts Director Angelia Burgett said softball players from communities near and far in Illinois take part in Mattoon Pride’s annual Bagelfest softball tournament at the Roundhouse Complex, which is located within walking distance of the festival at Peterson Park. “The softball tournament is such a large generator of visitors for the festival,” Burgett said, noting that approximately 90 teams are slated to take part in the Thursday-Saturday tournament this year. “It is by far the largest week for softball in Mattoon.” Burgett said “Take Me Out to the Bagelfest” has been selected as the theme of the 31st annual festival to pay tribute to the Mattoon Pride tourney and to the long, rich history of baseball and softball in Mattoon. In addition, Burgett said the Grimes Field baseball diamond at Peterson Park plays a central role in Bagelfest every year by hosting the main stage concerts at 8 p.m. daily. This year’s concert lineup features Citizen Way on Thursday, Rachel Holder and Jason Pritchett on Friday, and Chase Bryant on Saturday. The “Take Me Out to the Bagelfest” theme will be incorporated into the annual Bagelfest parade at 10:30 a.m. Saturday on Broadway Avenue from downtown Mattoon to Peterson Park, Burgett said. Participants are encouraged to use baseball and softball decorations on their floats. “Take Me Out to the Bagelfest” also will be part of the official 2016 festival T-shirts that will be on sale at a souvenir stand near the main stage entrance at Grimes Field during the week’s activities. Burgett said the festival will offer many returning favorite activities, including an American Banner Amusements carnival Wednesday through Saturday at Peterson Park. She said a third
armband day was added last year and will be offered again this year. She said armbands can be purchased in advance for a $3 discount through the tourism office. The festival’s signature free bagel breakfast is scheduled for 8-10 a.m. Saturday at the DeMars Center in Peterson Park. Participants can dine on bagels provided by the Lender’s Bagels
plant in Mattoon. The breakfast and festival were founded as a way to celebrate the opening of this bagel factory in the community. Burgett said one of the new additions to this year’s festival will be the local Bartels Petting Zoo, which will showcase a variety of exotic animals. She said the petting zoo will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the south side
Chase Bryant to finish out Bagelfest main stage music JARAD JARMON jarad.jarmon@lee.net
MATTOON — Country artist Chase Bryant will be finishing out the list of main stage music performances at Bagelfest. Bryant will take the stage from 8 until 10 p.m. Saturday. While relatively new in the game, signing on with Red Bow Records in 2013, Bryant said country music, specifically playing it, has been a staple of his entire life. Originating from Orange Grove, Texas, with a population of approximately 1,200 people, the 23-yearold said he has been playing technically since he was 3 years old. “I have always been playing,” he said. “For me, music was always the right thing.” Inspired watching his grandfather, Jimmy Bryant, who performed with Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings, Bryant said it became inevitable for him to be involved in music, according to his biography. “I am just a guy from a small town that just wanted to play music,” Bryant said. A year after signing, Bryant would drop his first single “Take It On Back,” a subtle pop-flavored country tune, coming off of his EP, “Chase Bryant.” His next single from his EP, “Little Bit of You,” gained him more acclaim. This would also be the song, Bryant said, that elicits the most excitement out of the crowd, which is especially fun for him. “(‘Little Bit of You’) was the one that got the party kickin’ after ‘Taking It On Back,’” he said. For him, the song’s popularity has gotten to the point
where the crowd will start singing it back to him. “It’s a rush,” he said. “To hear a crowd sing those back at you off hand. That is always fun.” The song depicting a long-distance relationship and the longing that festers as a result spawned his famous single. “It came from me dating a girl in California at the time,” Bryant said. “We were always talking about when the next time was going to be when we would see each other. I was so far away from her. I just ended up sitting around one night thinking about it and then the next day that is where that song came from.” Most recently, Bryant released his new single, “Room to Breathe,” a fairly evident departure from his previous work. Bryant said with this single, which takes listeners on a more sexy ride with funky undertones in the back of the country hit, he wanted to explore a song with more sex appeal. “I just wanted to write some different than anything I had done in the past,” he said. These songs and others will ring out from the main stage that night. “I like to go out and start hard and finish hard,” he said. Tickets for the show are $15 for reserved seating and $10 for lawn seating. People can also get reserved seating for both Friday and Saturday night concerts for $20 as an option. Rachel Holder and Jason Pritchett will be Chase Bryant performing Friday. Those interested can call 800-500-6286, go online at Eventbrite or stop by the Mattoon tourism office in the train depot downtown to purchase tickets in person.
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of the park. More information about Bagelfest is available by going online to http:// www.mattoonbagelfest.com or calling the Mattoon tourism office at 1-800500-6286. The tourism office, which is housed in the Mattoon train depot, will operate out of the Peterson House at the southwest entrance to the park from July 18 to 23.
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