CLAY CITY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– One of the last remaining city fairs across all of Indiana is located right here in the Wabash Valley– and this year, the community has extra reason to celebrate.
Clay City is celebrating its 150th anniversary over the weekend, and got the festivities started on Wednesday with their annual parade. Jacquie Crabb, the coordinator for the event, said it’s something residents have enjoyed for generations.
“For a small town we have a very, very good parade every year. I’m a little bit prejudiced because I’ve been involved in it for 49 years,” she said. “It’s a very good parade and we have a good turnout, people come out and watch it, it’s just an exciting time.”
The parade had a movie theme, and included nearly 100 participants this year. Butch Marion, who was a part of the VFW Post 6606 float, said this is something he looks forward to each year.
“It’s enjoyable, with the camaraderie and the people,” Marion said. “Clay City being a small, community town, most people know everybody. If you go to the parade or you’re marching it in, you got people yelling at you, they know your name, if you’re riding a float you can yell back at them.”
The parade is kicking off the sesquicentennial celebration in downtown Clay City this weekend. Crabb said seeing Main Street packed with people is always a joy– and she hopes to see the community come out.
“I was around when we celebrated our 100th anniversary. It’s exciting because we get to do old things, I guess you might call them, old traditions. People gather and just have a good time.”
Marion believes it’s a testament to the strength of the place he calls home.
“I think it’s great because a lot of towns like Clay City don’t survive. You see a lot of towns just drying up and blowing away, you see them all over the state. Where we are, we’re gaining,” he said. “It’s not a major gain, we have no major factories but we get a store open here, two or three new houses open here, it’s growing.”
And Crabb said it’s times like this that remind her why she’s been working on the parade for so long– and why she hopes it continues for years into the future.
“I want to keep our town active, and I want to see our fair go forward. That’s mainly the reason I’ve done it all these years, to keep all the organizations involved,” she said.
To see more details on what events will take place this weekend, check out the Clay City Fair Facebook page.
