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“THANK YOU” from Pioneer Days 2011

The Pioneer Days Committeemen and all the Kalida Lions and Kalida Firefighters say “THANK YOU”

- to the many people who attended and participated in the 139th Pioneer Days in Kalida and made it a huge success.
- to all who helped honor the fallen heroes of 9/11 in the Pioneer Days parade and to our First Responders and Military who make sacrifices for us everyday.
- to all the people who supported Pioneer Days by purchasing the Big Ticket and the Queens contestants for selling the Big Ticket.
-to our Corporate Sponsors:  KNG Energy, Ohio Sanitary Services, The Union Bank, Knueve and Sons, Budweiser, The Meadows of Kalida, Verhoff Machine & Welding, Unverferth Mfg. Co., Inc., K & L Ready Mix, Kalida Telephone Co., Sarka Electric, OmniSource, Crop Production Services, RTH Processing, Monster Energy and Marathon-Ney Oil.
- to the Entertainment Sponsors, Event Sponsors and Underwriters of Pioneer Days.
- to the community businesses and residents who generously allow the use of their properties during Pioneer, and support Pioneer with newspaper ads, radio ads, and various donations.
- to the Mayor and staff of the village of Kalida, for all their assistance with Pioneer Days.
- to the Union Township trustees and staff for their assistance during Pioneer Days.
- to the Putnam County principals for distributing the Bicycle Tickets to all K-6 students in the county.
- to all the bicycle and tricycle donors.
- to all the community organizations who operate the various food and concession stands.
- to the Putnam County YMCA for hosting the Pioneer Days 5K.
- to the many Pioneer committeemen who are there, year in and year out.  Most of you have been head of your committee for many years, and YOU are the reason Pioneer runs smoothly.
- to the many volunteers who pitch in to help the Lions and Firefighters. We certainly recognize we could not put this festival on without your assistance.
- to the Kalida Schools staff for their cooperation in holding the Pioneer Volleyball Invitational, Cheerleading contest and 5K race.
- to the Kalida community for the extra effort to “spruce up” properties for the annual Pioneer Days festival.
- to the many behind-the-scenes people who help before, during, and after Pioneer.  For fear of missing someone, we won’t publish any names, but we certainly recognize and THANK YOU for the many things you do to make Pioneer successful.

Big Ticket Winners:
$1,200.00 Holly Horstman      $500.00 Scott Miller              $300.00 Adriene Sweyers      
 $200.00   Greg Recker           $200.00 Josh Warnecke         200.00 Rosie Riepenhoff                   
 $100.00    Ron Kahle, Sr.        $100.00 Rick Warnecke         $100.00 Brian Gerdemann
 $100.00    Joel Rampe          

Visit www.pioneerdays.com for a complete listing of all the Pioneer Days Winners.

See you at Pioneer Days 2012!
“Always the weekend after Labor Day"

8/30/2011

PIONEER DAYS IN KALIDA TO MARK 9/11 WITH MANY SPECIAL HAPPENINGS

With the Pioneer Days parade in Kalida, Ohio taking place exactly 10 years after 9/11, there will be many happenings on Sunday, Sept. 11th at Pioneer Days. The theme of this year’s Pioneer parade is “Remembering the heroes of 9/11 in our faith, hope, love and lives”.  ALL First Responders and ALL active and retired Military in the area have been invited to take a place of honor in the front of the parade. Invitations have been sent to all the appropriate organizations in the county and area inviting them to participate.

A Gigantic American flag will be draped across Broad Street, hanging from two area Fire Department Ladder trucks near the Kalida Fire Station.  All parade entries will go under this large American Flag.

A brand new M1A2 Abrams tank, built in Lima, Ohio will be part of this year’s parade. In addition, there will be numerous vintage Military vehicles and equipment in this year’s parade, including the private collection from the “The Cheney Family Military Collection” who are members of The Ohio MotorPool, Inc. organization.  Please visit pioneerdays.com to view pictures of some of the amazing vintage Military equipment that will be part of the 139th Pioneer Days in Kalida on Sunday, Sept.11th.  All Military Equipment that will be participating in the parade will then be on static display for your viewing after the parade, behind and beside the Kalida Fire Station.

Prior to the parade, a special Pioneer Days 9/11 Remembrance Mass will be held at St Michael’s Catholic Church in Kalida at 10:30am, with father Mark Hoying celebrating the mass.

As of this date, all Putnam County High School Marching Bands are scheduled to participate in this year’s Pioneer Days parade. In addition, as a special attraction to all attending the parade, a BMX Bike Stunt team will be performing in downtown Kalida, both before and after the parade. They will also be in the parade, as well. Numerous other activities and events will be taking place after the parade, as well.

Come to Kalida on Sunday, Sept. 11th and help us “NEVER FORGET” the tragedy of 9/11.

8/23/2011

SQUEEZEBOX ENTERTAINERS TO PERFORM IN KALIDA, SATURDAY, SEPT. 10TH

If you attend the 4:30 mass at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Kalida, Ohio Saturday, Sept. 10th you will get a preview of the musical talents of Ted and Mollie of the band SQUEEZEBOX that will be performing at the Pioneer Town Square Pavilion later that evening at 6 p.m.  Ted and Mollie have graciously agreed to share their talents in celebration of Saturday evening mass on Sept 10th.

SQUEEZEBOX regularly performs over 100 dates in 20 states throughout the year.
Ted is a native of Archbold, Ohio and performs accordion, bass and vocals.  Mollie is a native of Spring Grove, Minnesota and relocated to Northwest Ohio in 2007.  Mollie shares her talents on trumpet, sax, piano, button box as well as vocals.  SQUEEZEBOX began originally in the late 1990’s under a different name, known at that time as “The Bratwurst Boys”, which was a part time spin-off band consisting of members from the Grammy Nominated “Toledo Polkamotion.”  However, as the band and members evolved through the years, and continually added new material to their play list, it was evident that the name they were using unfortunately had them pigeon-holed as a “polka only” band….  While they can most certainly play polkas and love to play polkas… THEY CAN PLAY MUCH MORE THAN JUST POLKAS… hence, the name change.  SQUEEZEBOX is made up of three solid musicians with extensive backgrounds in the performing field:  Ted Lange, Mollie Busta, and Dave Burner.

Come to Kalida on Pioneer Saturday, Sept. 10th and enjoy the music of SQUEEZEBOX.  There is no charge to see and listen to SQUEEZEBOX at the Pioneer Town Square Pavilion.  A wooden dance floor will be available for your dancing pleasure.  German food, (Brats, Sauerkraut and German Potato Salad) will be available from the Kalida K of C.  Anheuser Busch draft beers, Golden Shock Top and Amber Bock will be available as well as a selection of canned beers.

8/22/2011

PIONEER DAYS AUCTIONS TO FEATURE OHIO SPORTS PACKAGE AND ELDORA SPEEDWAY LUXURY BOX.

In conjunction with Pioneer Days in Kalida, there will be two auctions with some very unique items to bid on.

Saturday,Sept.10th at 9pm you will have the opportunity to bid on one night’s use (for 6 people) of a Luxury Box at Eldora Speedway. There will also
be several other items auctioned off Saturday evening.

The Sunday , Sept 11th  4pm auction items include a custom made, one of a kind Pioneer Days 9/11 Neon, in recognition of the ten year
anniversary of 9/11.  All the sports fans out there will not want to miss the opportunity to bid on the Ohio Sports Package. This
package will consist of a total of 16 tickets. Four tickets each for the Browns , Bengals, Reds and Indians. These will all be first class seating at all
locations for the 2012 season including Parking Passes.

Pioneer Days, one of Ohio’s Oldest festivals will be held Sept.8th-11th in downtown Kalida. Please visit pioneerdays.com for additional information on this year’s
Festival.

8/8/2011

MONSTER BMX STUNT SHOW TO APPEAR AT PIONEER DAYS

Pioneer Days in Kalida, Ohio is proud to announce that the Monster Energy BMX Bike Stunt Show will be performing during the upcoming Pioneer Days Festival!  There are three performances scheduled , all on Sunday, Sept. 11th. One performance will be held at 12:30, before the annual Pioneer Days parade, and two performances will be held after the parade at 3:30 and  5:30.

The Monster Energy BMX Stunt show performs all over North America, however this will be their first time performing in the Putnam County area. Each stunt show will last approximately one half hour and all shows are FREE to the public. Shows will be held on Broad Street, just off the Town Square.

This year’s Pioneer Days parade, which is being held on the ten year anniversary of 9/11,  will feature a special tribute to our First Responders and all our Military. All First Responders and active and retired Military are invited to participate. Additional information on the parade can be found at www.pioneerdays.com.

Pioneer Days , now in its 139th year is one of the oldest festivals in Ohio. The four day event is always held the weekend after Labor Day on the Square and streets of downtown Kalida.

139th PIONEER DAYS TO BE HELD IN KALIDA, OHIO SEPT. 8TH-11TH

2011 PIONEER DAYS PARADE THEME WINNER

The Pioneer Days Committee has announced the theme for the Pioneer Days parade to be held September 11, 2011 in Kalida, Ohio at 1:30 p.m. Sharp.

Alexis Meyer, a student at Kalida Elementary School submitted the winning parade theme.  The theme is “Remembering the heroes of 9/11 in our faith, hope, love and lives”.

The Pioneer Days parade will be held exactly on the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.  A special invitation is being extended to all First Responders and all Active and Retired Military Personnel to participate in the Pioneer Days Parade.  Also on Sunday 9/11/11, a special 9/11 Remembrance Mass will be held prior to the parade at St. Michael’s Catholic Church at 10:30 a.m. with Father Mark Hoying officiating.

Left to Right : Jeff Cleemput , Dave Unverferth, Alexis Meyer, Ryan Kerner and Eric Unverferth

Visit www.pioneerdays.com for a complete listing of all the Pioneer Days Winners as well as photos of past

Pioneer Days.

See you at Pioneer Days 2011!

“Always The Weekend After Labor Day”