BURR OAK – Community pride will be on display this weekend, as St. Joseph County’s smallest community hosts its annual festival.
Burr Oak Heritage Days 2024, a four-day celebration starting today, has adopted the theme “Living in a Small Town Can be a Circus.”
Committee chair Patty Seeba said the circus theme for this year’s festival has leant itself to several creative events new to the 15-year-old festival. She explained the backstory to the theme and how it ties in with the book “The Long Road to the Circus.”
Burr Oak is the setting for the story, which features a little girl who learned how to ride an ostrich. The main character, 12-year-old Suzy Bowles, spends her summer completing chores on her family’s farm in Burr Oak. The story takes a twist when two additional characters – her wayward uncle and a circus performer named Madame Marantette – are introduced.
Just to clarify, Madame Marantette was a real person, born in Mendon. She died in 1922 at the age of 73 and is buried at Mendon Township Cemetery.
Seeba explained the book weaves fact with fiction, as Marantette’s antics inspire the fictional Suzy Bowles to train and ride Gaucho, a 9-foot-tall ostrich. Bowles eventually sees the world by joining Marantette as a circus performer.
Seeba said the highlight of this year’s festival will be the presence of “The Long Road to the Circus” author Betsy Bird and illustrator David Small, a Caldecott Medal recipient.
“Our local artist, Sue Sturwold, has made a life-size ostrich that will be on their float and look like it’s pulling them on a little carriage,” Seeba said. “So, that will be fun to look for in the parade.”
Today’s opening-day highlights include a cruise-in, brats and bingo, a light parade and River of Fire.
Friday features a full day of events, include a bike-a-thon, duck derby, variety show and an event Seeba said she is especially excited to watch: Contest in the Community Tent.
“It’s a circus-themed contest in the tent after the talent show, and they’re getting couples to join and do crazy things like those Minute to Win It games,” she said. “Some silly and fun games but the winning team will get $50 a person.”
Saturday events start at 7:30 a.m. and continue all day. The traditional parade starts at 11 o’clock. Meanwhile, food vendors, mud volleyball, the always-popular port-a-potty pulls and fireworks highlight Saturday’s agenda.
Seeba said there are two people not to be missed Saturday. The first is circus performer Jay Blackwell, who will swallow swords and perform a variety of magic trucks. The other is hula-hoop extraordinaire Kylee Lipinski.
Sunday will feature a community church service, led by Burr Oak Missionary Church.
Seeba said she is confident the 2024 Burr Oak Heritage Days will rival any other community celebration in St. Joseph County in terms of entertainment, activities and food.
She reflected on Heritage Days, its impact on Burr Oak and Burr Oak’s image. Seeba recalled how the inaugural Heritage Days in 2009 was meant to be a one-time celebration to commemorate Burr Oak’s sesquicentennial. It went so well, many of the committee members involved in the 2009 celebration decided to see if another festival in 2010 would attract a crowd.
“It’s a really proud time for Burr Oak and I’m humbled to have been a part of Heritage Days starting with that 2009 sesquicentennial celebration,” Seeba said. “We’ve had a solid core since the beginning and many of them have stuck with it through the years. We’ve had some great additions who have been really beneficial to the committee. To get a group of over 20 people to meet consistently is a lot to ask but we make it work.”
A full list of events and activities is available through the festival’s Facebook page.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Burr Oak Heritage Days 2024 celebrating with circus theme
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