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| Children ride a roller coaster during last year’s Founders Day activities. Founders Day is Saturday in Burleson. (File photo) |
Event set for Saturday
The city of Burleson’s parks and recreation department and the Burleson Heritage Foundation will join forces for the 16th annual Founders Day celebration from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Old Town.
Mock gunfights; historical, self-guided walking tours; and great food are on tap for the celebration that will take place on Ellison Street, between Main Street and Johnson Avenue. More than 80 vendors are expected to line the streets of Old Town.
The gunfighters will return to stage mock gunfights in the street and to jail and grant bail to the city’s worst offenders.
New this year will be historical, self-guided walking tours through Old Town. Those walks will start at the Heritage Visitors Center at the corner of Ellison and Wilson streets.
Also on tap will be arts and crafts, food, carnival rides and musical entertainment. The Mighty Marvelous 4, which headlined this year’s Fourth of July celebration in Burleson at Hidden Creek Sports Complex, will headline the Founders Day celebration from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Also on stage on Oct. 11 will be dancers, gymnasts and martial arts.
A second stage will feature worship bands 316, By Faith, In His Hands, the First Baptist Church of Burleson Worship Team, the Celebration Choir from First Baptist Church of Burleson and the duo Tiffany McConnell and Danette Woodard.
The Heritage Visitors Center will be open and staffed by volunteers during Founders Day. In addition to the historical displays, several keepsakes, including the original interurban rails, the book “Burleson: The First 100 Years,” ornaments, postcards, pencils and photographs will be for sale. A model building collection crafted by Phil Marsh will also be on display.
Burleson Lions Club members will serve breakfast and lunch. Breakfast starts at 8 a.m. and will be served until 10:30 a.m., or until food runs out. Lunch is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or until food runs out. The club’s concession trailer will be set up at the corner of Wilson and Ellison.
Founders Day is celebrated on the second Saturday of October in recognition of the date that Burleson was founded, Oct. 10, 1881. The festival kicked off in 1993. The focus has always been on Old Town, site of
the city’s roots.
For information about Founders Day festivities, call the parks and recreation department at 817-295-8168. For a booth application, call 817-447-3522 or 817-343-2589 or go online at the city of Burleson Web site, www.burlesontx.com and click on About Burleson, then History of Burleson and Founders Day.
Parking
A large turnout is expected for the 16th annual Founders Day in Burleson on Saturday, and visitors should come early and stay late to keep their parking spaces.
Ellison Street, which runs in front of Burleson City Hall, will be closed from Bransom Street, next to the police department, to Commerce Street, by the railroad tracks. Warren Street will be closed from Renfro Street to south of Ellison. Wilson Street will be closed from the city hall parking lot to south of Ellison; and Main Street will be closed from Renfro Street to south of Ellison.
The main stage will be set up near the corner of Main and Ellison. The carnival will be set up in the Main Street area. The second stage, hosted by First Baptist Church, will be set up at the corner of Warren and Ellison.
City staff, volunteers, and members of the Burleson High School ROTC will coordinate traffic and parking.
For information about street closures or traffic patterns, call Rey Gonzales at 817-447-5410, ext. 271.
— Special to the Connection
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