By Jacob Clemens
For the Sidney Daily News
NEW BREMEN – The village of New Bremen is preparing to celebrate its 102nd annual Fireman’s Picnic, to be held Friday and Saturday, July 21-22, in the festival’s traditional home of Crown Pavilion.
Friday’s events will begin at 3 p.m. when the beverage stands open to the public. Food stands open a bit later at 5 p.m.
The first activity of the weekend is at 7:30 p.m. when local firemen from across Auglaize County will suit up in their protective gear to participate in a 1-mile jog in the Firemen’s Memorial Fun Run & Gear Challenge. Registration for the event will begin an hour prior at 6:30 p.m.
Those seeking a challenge can participate in the Fireman’s Memorial 5k Run/Walk, beginning at 8 p.m. Awards will be given out to the top three male and female participants, as well as the top three in each listed age group. Online registration and age groups can be found on the festival website.
Returning from last year, live music to end the night will be provided by the band Monroe Country beginning at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday’s festivities will begin at noon when food and beverage stands open.
One of the highlights of the annual Fireman’s Picnic is its waterball competitions. Enjoyers of the game will look forward to three installments throughout Saturday afternoon.
For those unfamiliar with the competition, two teams of three hold onto a firehose and shoot water at a suspended ball in the air, attempting to push it along its track. The first team to push it past their designated line win. The organizers offer a word of advice: “Wear your swimsuit and bring a towel, you will get wet!”
The Kids Waterball Tournament will start at 1p.m., with registration beginning at 12:30 p.m. Similar to the 5K, kids will be split into age groups, and the top three in each will be awarded from there. Age groups and other information can be found on the festival website.
At 3:30p.m., the local New Bremen football and volleyball teams will compete in a game of waterball against each other. Finally, at 4:30 p.m., the local firemen will also have their shot at fighting for waterball glory.
Other events for the day include live firefighting demonstrations at 2 p.m. on Plum Street. From 3:30–7:30 p.m., pony rides will be offered for children. An array of additional kids’ games will be offered across the festival grounds from 5:30-9:30 p.m.
Live music for Saturday evening will be provided by local acoustic duo Jay and Julia Riethman at 5 p.m., who will perform a mix of country, pop, and alternative covers. Later on at 9 p.m., the band Bubs and Munch will perform some country covers as well.
To end the weekend’s events, the New Bremen Fire Department raffle drawings will be made. As always, all proceeds from this year’s picnic will be donated towards local fire department equipment and scholarship funds, according to Picnic Chair Jeff Utz.
The 102nd New Bremen Fireman’s Picnic will officially come to a close at 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning, when beverage stands close for the night.
For a complete schedule of events, visit https://newbremen.com/firemenspicnic/.
