WARSAW — Kosciusko County’s Indiana Bicentennial Committee is looking forward to a big celebration in September and there are plenty of ways the community can become involved.

The committee met Thursday evening, Sept. 21, to discuss the latest plans and to suggest new ideas for the three-day festival, set to take place during the Bicentennial Torch Relay’s run through Kosciusko County.

The relay begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, and will last roughly two and a half hours. The committee is seeking volunteers that day, especially to act as personnel at exchange points.

Of the 70 people nominated from throughout the county as torchbearers, 22 have been selected, meaning there will be at least 22 exchange sites throughout the county. Torchbearers will be notified in the coming days and their names will be announced June 1, after each chosen torchbearer had had a chance to accept or decline.

Committee members hope to have a community cookout at Lakeside Park in Syracuse at the end of the torch’s travels through Kosciusko County.

The committee plans to contact every elementary school in the county to have students decorate banners, which will hang along the torch route, at Grace College and at the fairgrounds. These will have the schools’ names and will be returned to the schools after the event.

Light-up torches are still available and the committee hopes to see many displayed along the route.

From 7-9 p.m. that evening, a concert titled, “Decades of Music” will take place at the Manahan Ortohpaedic Capital Center at Grace College. The committee hopes to include bands and choirs from throughout the county and from the local schools.

Friday, Sept. 30, will include First Friday events and the committee is still working out details as far as how they would like to participate.

Festivities begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds with a pancake breakfast. A parade kicks off at 10 a.m. and will travel from Central Park, west on Center Street to Bronson Street, ending at the fairgrounds. Committee member Paula Bowman noted she has contacted the railroad company, where representatives said they would be willing to pause train traffic during the parade.

Ideas for the parade include lining entries up by decades, featuring local businesses celebrating milestone years and inviting past area fair and festival queens.

Other activities that day will include:

• An antique tractor display, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• A quilt display, 1 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Beard contest winners announced, 1 p.m.
• Bingo, 1-4 p.m.
• A grandstand concert, 6-8 p.m.
• Fireworks, 8:30 p.m.
• Vendors and commercial tents until 7 p.m.

The committee is still seeking sponsors for activities like bounce house inflatables, face painting, balloon animals, a corn hole tournament and music for Thursday’s torch relay celebration events. Photos from throughout the county are sought for a running slide show.

Other ideas in the works include ice cream by Echoes of the Past and pie by the Leesburg United Methodist Church, presentations by local 4-H members, a motorcycle ride and a “pumpkin chunkin'” contest between different local entities like the orthopedics manufacturers.

Unconfirmed ideas have included things like a visit from a NASA employee, a balloon glow, rides, a bike ride, ghost tours, cemetery walks, a Native American folklorist and a “through-the-decades” fashion show.

Anyone interested in learning more, volunteering or sponsoring an activity can visit the Warsaw/Kosciusko County Bicentennial Committee website, email [email protected] or visit the committee’s Facebook page.