Students should mark their calendars for May 14-16 in preparation for Upland’s newest festival: Depot Days.
Celebrating Upland’s heritage as a railroad town, Depot Days will offer places to eat, shopping, activities and live music, Daena Richmond, chair of Our Town Upland, said.
“If you want something to eat, shop, if you want to exercise, if you want to just sit around and watch, or if you want to participate, those are the things you can do,” she said. “So it is going to be a packed day of activity.”
May 14 will commence with a private unveiling of a new exhibit honoring impactful doctors and nurses from the area, Richmond said. A Q&A session with a well-known cartoonist will be held for the winners of a cartoon contest for Eastbrook High School and Taylor University art students.
Friday and Saturday will consist of a variety of events, including a cornhole tournament, food trucks, a pancake breakfast at the fire station, live music and free ice cream. Guests will have an opportunity to help paint a mural, as well, Richmond said. Some activities will cost money.
The historical society is hosting a ceremony to put flags down for Veterans Day, and Detamore trail will have placards to honor local sports legends, said Alex Reno, chair of the festival committee for Our Town Upland and parks department president.
Also at this event, the depot will display an Indiana State Historical Society Exhibit called, “From Pencils to Pixels,” about Indiana cartoonists. The winners of the cartoon contest will have their work displayed alongside this exhibit, Andrew Preston, president of the Upland Historical Society and marketing coordinator for Our Town Upland, said.
Depot Days’ precursor was Blooms and Berries, also called the Strawberry festival, Reno said. When construction on the bridge started, the festival was canceled.
This gave the festival organizers time to reflect.
“So the historical society kind of took that time, and they were the ones that had always hosted the Strawberry Festival, and they're like, ‘well, there's not a whole lot historic about strawberries and Upland, other than Ivanhoe’s strawberry shortcake’,” Alex Reno, chairman of the festival committee for Our Town Upland, said.
The Strawberry Festival wasn’t making money, and less people were interested in attending, Richmond said.
Ultimately, they decided to change the festival to Depot Days to better reflect the heritage of Upland Indiana, which was born as a railroad town.
A depot has always been symbolic of arrivals and departures, Preston said. This theme serves as a farewell to those departing Upland for the summer, such as Taylor students, or for longer, such as Taylor graduates. The dates May 14-16 were chosen specifically so students can attend, hang out and blow off steam before finals.
Though some people are concerned about Strawberry Fest’s replacement, Depot Day’s organizers hope people can keep their minds open and enjoy the event, Reno said.
The organizers hope to release more information on Our Town Upland’s Facebook page as the event draws closer.
