Rooted in the Past Branching into the Future

Thursday 9/27/18 @ 7pm Queen's Pageant

Saturday 9/29/18 @  8am Bike Ride

                                  9am Little Pageant

                                  1pm Road Rally

                                  5-9pm Food & Wine Festival

Sunday 9/30/18         2:30-6:30pm Historic Home Tours

Friday 10/5/18 @      6:30pm Womanless Beauty Pageant

Saturday 10/6/18 @  8am Golf Scramble

                                  8am Jessie James 5K run/walk

                                  2-4pm Hometown History Day

                                  6-10pm Hope Starts at Home Celebration

Sunday 10/7/18        10am-5pm Car Show

                                  2pm Residential Walking Tour

                                  6:30pm Community Singing

Monday 10/8/18 @   10am Historic Jail Tours

                                  2pm Historic Jail Tours

                                  5-7pm Emergency Services Awareness Event

Tuesday 10/9/18 @  10:45am Taster's Luncheon

                                  2pm Residential Walking Tour

                                  5:30pm Cemetery Tours

                                  6pm Pet Show

Wednesday 10/10/18 4H Fall Grill Luncheon

Thursday 10/11/18 @ 8:30am Health Fair

                                   2pm Business Walking Tour

                                   5:30pm Cemetery Tours

                                   7pm Cemetery Tours

Friday 10/12/18 @     7am Tobacco Judging

                                   10am Senior Stroll

                                   1pm Trolley Rides

                                   6pm Square Dancing

Saturday 10/13/18     9am-4pm Crafts & Concessions

                                  10:30am Parade

                                  12-4 Bounce Zone

                                  12-4 Carriage Rides

Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival

October 13, 2018

 

Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival is a two-week-long event ending on the 2nd Saturday in October.  A sample of events include the Jesse James 5K, Bike Ride, Historic Walking Tours, Jesse James Bank Robbery Reenactment, Golf Scramble, Beauty Pageants, Craft and Flea Market, Free Concerts in the Square, Festival Parade and MUCH more! Please see our Schedule of Events for a complete listing of times and locations.

The Festival had its beginning in 1941, a one-day event coinciding with the opening of tobacco markets and the Christmas shopping season. Sponsored by the Russellville downtown merchants, it was conceived as an annual event but ceased after 1942 because of World War II priorities. In 1957 the Festival was revived by the Chamber of Commerce and has continued annually uninterrupted. The length has stretched from one to eight days, often with related activities before and following. The purpose of the Festival has grown from focusing attention on Logan County's chief crop and its importance to the economy to include also progress in other areas and recognition of and appreciation for our rich heritage. The name was altered in 2002 to Tobacco & Heritage Festival to reflect more accurately its overall intent. New events have been added through the years, varying in their longevity, but some have remained as traditional: The Festival Queen's Beauty Pageant, Tobacco Show, Rotary Club Pancake Breakfast, Taster's Luncheon at the United Methodist Temple, Historic Tours, Reenactment of the 1868 Bank Robbery by the Jesse James Gang and the big culminating Parade. Greatly enjoyed in the past have been the Big Show of farm and garden produce, the Colonial Tea, the Outhouse Race, and Tobacco Spitting Contest.

The Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival is a time of homecoming with both planned and informal reunions of friends, family and former residents.Rightly recognized as the biggest happening of the year, the Festival continues because of the dedication and cooperation of untold numbers of citizens throughout Logan County who give their time and support to planning and carrying out the plans.

 

 For two nights during Festival Week, you can take a stroll through Maple Grove Cemetery.  During the guided tour you will learn of the historical figures that once roamed the streets of Russellville and lived in Logan County.  Call the Chamber Office at (270) 726-2206 to reserve your FREE ticket to this exciting event.