Maple Leaf Festival prepares for ‘huge year’

Schedule of events

Friday

• Carnival, evening only, downtown.

Saturday

• Maple Leaf 5K run, 8:30 a.m., Baldwin City Golf Course, 1500 South St.

• Arts and Craft Show, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., downtown and in the grade school

• Maple Leaf Quilt Show, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Baldwin Elementary School Intermediate Center, 100 Bullpup Drive

• Free country music tent, all day, next to Baldwin City Post Office.

• Carnival and food booths, all day

• Kids’ Zone with inflatable obstacle course, free crafts, petting zoo, pony rides and storytellers, as well as other educational and entertaining events, all day.

• Kiddie Parade, 10:45 a.m.

• Parade, 11 a.m.

• Train rides, leaving every hour 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., historic Santa Fe Depot, 1515 W. High St. Ticket prices are $7 for adults and children.

• Baldwin City area history tours (tours start at Antiques on the Prairie, Sixth Street and High Street): Vinland area sites, 1:30 p.m.; Black Jack area sites, 3 p.m.

• Black Jack cabin located in the roadside park at 2011 N. 200 Road (U.S. Highway 56) is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Volunteers will provide tours.

• Black Jack Battlefield, 163 East 2000 Road, guided tours at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Self-guided tours, dawn to dusk.

Sunday

• Quilt Show speaker Marla Jackson, 8 a.m. at the Old Primary Center, 700 Chapel St.

• Arts and Craft Show, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

• Maple Leaf Quilt Show, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Baldwin Elementary School Intermediate Center, 100 Bullpup Drive

• Free country music tent, all day. (Gospel music Sunday morning).

• Carnival and food booths, all day

• Kids’ Zone with inflatable obstacle course, free crafts, petting zoo, pony rides and storytellers, as well as other educational and entertaining events, all day.

• Volkswalk 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., begins at Baldwin High School. No fee but participants may pay a fee for a medal and lVV credit. Call 785-233-4385 for more information.

• Train rides, leaving every hour 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., historic Santa Fe Depot, 1515 W. High St. Tickets: $7 for adults and children.

• Black Jack cabin located in the roadside park at 2011 N. 200 Road (U.S. Highway 56) is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Volunteers will provide tours.

• Black Jack Battlefield, 163 E. 2000 Road, has guided tours at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Self-guided tours, dawn to dusk.

Baldwin City ? As the third weekend in October approaches, Joanna Vesecky and the rest of the Maple Leaf Festival Committee is scrambling to make sure every detail for the event is taken care of.

“A big, nice turnout and lots of smiles make the stress of the year worthwhile,” said Vesecky, Maple Leaf Festival vice chairwoman.

Last year, the festival drew record-breaking crowds to Baldwin City, and the committee is hoping for the same this year.

“Since it is supposed to be good weather for this weekend and the (Maple Leaf Quilt Show) is having its 40th year and with the Midland Railway running its train, I bet we’re going to have a huge year,” Vesecky said. “Anytime the weather is nice, we usually have a record-setting year and beat out the year before.”

New to the festival this year are car show groups. Three groups will participate in the Maple Leaf Festival Parade and afterward will set up in different parts of town so guests will be able to view the cars up close.

Crafts booths are always a staple of the Maple Leaf Festival, and this year the number of booths has grown to 320.

“We have more booths than we’ve had for quite some time,” Vesecky said.

The Business and Professional Women’s Foundation’s craft show runs at the same time as the Maple Leaf Festival; however, it is not a part of the festival. The BPW will have its own crafts, booths, music and food. It will be in the gymnasium on Chapel Street between Sixth and Eighth streets.

Vesecky said the main goal of Maple Leaf Festival is to draw a large crowd to Baldwin City for the weekend.

“We want our community to benefit from it because the money we raise for doing the booths, we turn that back into the community by giving scholarships or helping the fire department or helping the school purchase stuff,” Vesecky said. “We hope for a good turnout, so in return we can turn around and help our community.”

Along with booths and the parade, the festival will also host a variety of activities including a Kid’s Zone with inflatables and a petting zoo, a full carnival, country music, history tours, and train rides at the Midland Railway.