Gosport Lazy Days 2026

A wet and windy start may have delayed the opening ceremonies, but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd that gathered on Thursday, Aug. 13 to kick off the 2026 Gosport Lazy Days festival.

The Outstanding Citizens of the Year, chosen by the Lazy Days Committee were Shelly Leonard and Craig Brighton.

The Senior Citizens of the Year were Linda Holsapple and Ernie East.

Little Miss and Little Mister went to Knox Truesdel and Chloe Fauber, respectively.

Festivities continued into the night with music on the town park bandstand.

Friday continued the activities with the Tim Dittemore Memorial Car Show, the Gosport VFW Fish Fry and three musical acts on the bandstand.

Saturday started early with the Gosport Lions Club 5k Race and continued with the annual Bike Race, Baby Contest and Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest.

One o’clock began the Gosport Lazy Days Parade with floats representing organizations from Gosport, greater Owen County and beyond.

The parade’s end brought what may be Gosport Lazy Days’ most signature event: the Main Street Bed Races.

For the uninitiated, the Bed Races consist of two teams of five, four of whom pull an old wheeled hospital bed without a mattress, and one of whom lies flat on the bed and holds on for dear life. The first makeshift sleigh-bed team across the finish line wins the race and a double-elimination tournament determines the champion of the event.

This year, the Bed Races were renamed in memory of the longtime host of the event, Kip Seidenstucker. In his place this year was his daughter Kassie Smithey, who recalled how much her father enjoyed hosting the Bed Races each year and how much he would have appreciated the event being named in his honor. The champions this year were a team drafted from the crowd by the Indiana Dinosaur Museum of South Bend, IN.