Spirit of Pulaski County Festival to be Combined with Bicentennial Torch Celebrations

Indiana BicentennialThis year’s Spirit of Pulaski County Festival may be combined with the county’s celebration of Indiana’s bicentennial. 

Pulaski County’s Bicentennial Committee is planning a Torch Fest in early October, to celebrate the arrival of the Indiana Bicentennial Torch in the county. Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce Director Angie Anspach brought the idea of combining resources to create one larger festival to chamber board members Wednesday.

She said that Pulaski County Community Development Corporation Executive Director Nathan Origer is trying to put together a planning committee with representatives from different groups. “What he is asking is wanting us to work together with the CDC – us, maybe a few other organizations – to put on this event,” she said. “Maybe even forego having the Spirit Fest any longer and maybe just call it a Torch Fest or maybe just moving it to October just for this year, but something to commemorate that but not have back-to-back things going on.”

She says this type of collaboration would also help Winamac’s efforts in being named an Indiana Main Street Community, which would make the town eligible for help with downtown revitalization, “One of the required committees for all main street groups is to have a promotions committee, which does things like hosting events and putting festivals and celebrations on and stuff like that.”

In addition to combining aspects of the Spirit Festival with the Bicentennial Torch Relay, Origer says October’s event will also bring some other opportunities. “The really cool thing from my perspective is that it just happens to be the same day as National Manufacturing Day,” he said. “So one of the things we are going to do, besides if we can get a carnival for once in town and music and all that, is have like a ‘Made in Pulaski County Expo,’ so Braun might have a van on display, Plymouth Tube might have some things, or Fratco might have giant tubes and maybe even something like a kids’ playground where you can call through a giant drainage tile, and bring all this together.”

Chamber board members liked the idea, and agreed to move the festival to October and combine it with the torch celebration. It still remains to be seen what the official name of the celebration will be, and whether the move to October will be permanent or for this year only.