Coal City Old Grouch Festival set for Sept. 11-13

Coal City is preparing to welcome residents and visitors alike as C Little Big Town, Inc. presents the 2026 Coal City Old Grouch Festival from Sept. 11–13. The three-day celebration promises packed schedules filled with demonstration events, live music, food vendors, games, crafts, and family fun under the banner, “Come be a part of the Happy Folks!”

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Festivities kick off on Friday, Sept. 11, with the information booth opening (3 p.m.) and a solemn 9/11 remembrance & prayer (5-5:15 p.m.). Guests can enjoy a campfire cookout dinner (5:15-9:15 p.m.), followed by a ventriloquist performance (6-7 p.m.). Evening activities include open practice for 3-on-3 basketball (7-8 p.m.) as well as corn hole, horseshoes, and disc golf (7-9 p.m.). Visitors can also join a euchre tournament (7-10 p.m.) or cake walk contest (7:30-8 p.m.). The night wraps up with a free outdoor movie featuring Buster Keaton’s silent film “The General” (9-10:30 p.m.), DJ entertainment (9 p.m.-12 a.m.), and campfire s’mores (10:30-12 a.m.).

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Saturday, Sept. 12, starts early with an American flag raising ceremony & prayer (7-7:15 a.m.), and a sponsored breakfast (7:15-9:15 a.m.). Runners can register (7:30-8:30 a.m.) for the Old Grouch Fun 5K Run/Walk (8:30-9:30 am), while the American Legion Auxiliary serves coffee and pastries (8-10 a.m.). Morning highlights feature a living statue coal miner (8-10 a.m.), antique tractor display (8 a.m.-2 p.m.), artisan craft vendors (8 a.m.-4 p.m.), and the crowning of the Old Grouch Contest Winner (9-9:15 a.m.). Spectators can enjoy a cake walk (9:15-9:45 a.m.), a lumberjack contest featuring crosscut saw, tomahawk throwing, and log splitting (9-11 a.m.), 3-on-3 basketball practice (9 a.m.-2 p.m.), a skilled labor job fair (9 a.m.-3 p.m.), Abraham Lincoln appearances (9 a.m.-3 p.m.), a car show (9 a.m.-3 p.m.), and the Coal City Train Depot Museum (9 a.m.-3 p.m.). Open practices for all outdoor sports run throughout the day (9 a.m.-6 p.m.).

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Late morning on Saturday brings a Pageant Contest (9-11:30 a.m.), Queen City Stunt Circus Trapeze (10-10:30 a.m.), and children’s activities including foam pit, clown balloon art, and face painting (10 a.m.-2 p.m.). Food trucks serve lunch and dinner (10 a.m.-8 p.m.) alongside a Single Action Shooters performance (10:30-11 a.m.) and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (11-11:15 a.m.). Afternoon events kick off with parade line-up (12:15-1 pm) and the main parade (1 p.m.), followed by a second trapeze show (2 p.m.), Swinging Mates Square Dancing (2:30-3 p.m.), a homemade ice cream contest (3 p.m.), and the Owen County Homemakers Baking Contest (3-4 p.m.). The day closes out with the Jackson Township Community Band (3:30-4:30 p.m.), a third trapeze show (4-4:30 p.m.), the Old Grouch Auction fundraiser (4-5 p.m.), more square dancing (4:30-5 p.m.), another cake walk (5-6 p.m.), The James Family Singers (6-6:30 pm), fireworks (7-9 p.m.), and evening s’mores (9:30 p.m.-12 a.m.).

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Sunday, Sept. 13, opens with information booth operations (10 a.m.) and food vendor trucks (12-5 p.m.). Stage entertainment includes Miss Janene’s Puppets and Flannel Graph Stories (12-12:30 p.m.), followed by gospel music from the Evangelist Jimmy Gilbert Family Singers and Calvary’s Cause Band (12:45-1:45 p.m.). Officiated tournament action takes over the afternoon, starting with corn hole (1:30-2:30 p.m.) and continuing with horseshoes, disc golf, 3-on-3 basketball, baseball/softball, and volleyball (2:30-4:30 p.m.).
For more information, visit C Little Big Town, Inc. on Facebook or email clittlebigtowninc@proton.me.

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