Hope Heritage Days to feature old favorites, new activities

The 52nd annual Hope Heritage Days kicks off today turning the small community in northeastern Bartholomew County into the busiest spot in the community.

Michael Dean is CEO of Heritage of Hope, which oversees the annual festival.

One of the biggest draws is the food. The town’s not-for-profit groups prepare all of the food for sale inside the Hope Town Square. Dean said those food booths generate between $175,000 and $200,000 for those local groups during the festival. For many it is their largest fundraiser of the year.

Heritage Days features activities, music and vendors around the Town Square starting at 5 p.m. today and running through 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

He said there will be new activities this year including a traveling interactive exhibit from the Indians Historical Society.

There will also be a car show featuring Studebakers. A parts distributor for the long-discontinued cars moved its headquarters to Hope last year.

Dean said there will be more than 100 vendors in the streets around the Hope Town Square.

You can hear more of my interview with Michael Dean on News & Views, our weekend news show where I chat with local newsmakers. You can catch that here on News Talk 10 10 WCSI and 98.1 FM at 930 a.m. on Saturdays and again at 9 a.m. on Sundays.

You can get more information on Hope Heritage days at hopeheritagedays.org