Celebrate a new direction at Athol Daze on Saturday

ATHOL — This year, Athol will celebrate a fresh chapter during its annual Athol Daze town festival on Saturday.

With the theme "Athol: A New Direction," city clerk and treasurer Lori Yarbrough said the 2016 Athol Daze will mark a new era for the small town.

"The committee came up with it," Yarbrough said Wednesday. "Our city's gone through a lot. We're moving forward. We have a council that's really trying to be really active and gather people together. Everybody just thought it seemed to flow well. We bought all new city street signs and we got new banners to put on Highway 54."

Athol citizens and many more are invited to gather together for the 107th annual Athol Daze, which begins with a parade at 9 a.m., an hour earlier than previous years. Yarbrough said the parade should last about 15-30 minutes and will begin at Athol Elementary, 6333 E. Menser Ave., proceed north on old Highway 95, west on Highway 54, turn down Third Street and swirl back to Athol City Park.

Yarbrough said the Athol Daze Parade will include between 20-30 entries including the Athol Citizens of the Year, husband and wife Al and Jacqui Morgan, who have been Athol residents for about 25 years and have been very active with the local food banks, soup kitchens and community Christmas dinners.

While Athol is headed in a new direction, the Athol Daze fun will include some long-standing favorites — live music in the park, a classic car show at Victory Auto Parts, a live auction, raffles, a cakewalk, a library book walk, a dunk tank, inflatable jousting, bouncy houses, a water slide, a pie tasting contest from noon-3 p.m., carnival games that cost a quarter each and the famous Athol Daze money in the straw contest.

"We lay down a tarp and the city puts in like $400 worth of quarters," Yarbrough said. "It's free to the kids to play and they get so many minutes based on their age group. It's total chaos for a couple minutes but the kids love it."

Food and merchandise will be available from more than 30 vendors.

Athol City Park is located behind Athol City Hall/Community Center at the corner of Third Street and Bennett Avenue.