People were already busy Thursday morning setting up for the annual Blueberry Festival in Wilton that starts Friday and will culminate at 9 p.m. on Saturday with fireworks over Wilson Pond.
Thousands of people are expected to come for the events.
The Wilton Lions Club set up its tent near the Wilton Farm & Home Museum in the downtown area, off Main Street.
“It takes a lot of people to run the festival,” events coordinator Renee Woodard of Wilton said.
The town’s road crew brought in barrels and other items for the festival. The portable toilets also arrived and a street sweeper was cleaning the sand from the road.
The town crew, Fire Rescue Department and the Police Department always help out, too, organizers said.
Wilson, the festival’s blueberry mascot, was making her rounds Thursday and getting her photo taken.
Underneath the blueberry costume is Woodard’s daughter, Ashley Pinkham, 14.
When in disguise she gets to have fun.
“I do funny stuff and have fun and don’t have to worry about being made fun of because nobody knows who it is,” Pinkham said. “I go on top of the Fire Department’s ladder truck and will make an appearance at the 1-mile fun run.”
The 1-mile fun run starts at 5 p.m. on Friday from 21 Cushing Drive. There will be a street dance from 7-10 p.m. Friday with the Bracy Trio at 300 Main St.
The parade will line up Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. at 128 Weld Road and will step off at 10 a.m. to the theme of “The Rockin’ ’80s.” The parade will travel down Weld Road and turn right onto Main Street and will proceed to the monument in downtown. Prizes will be given for first, second and third place floats.
A schedule of events can be found on Wilton Blueberry Festival’s Facebook page.
The Square restaurant on Main Street will have a live band, Love and Theft, on Saturday night, Woodard said.
Pinkham’s favorite part of the festival is seeing all the little kids having fun, she said, and children of all ages will have a lot to do.
There will be 10 inflatables, including bounce houses, water slides and slip and slide in the Kid’s Zone from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Kineowatha Park at 90 High St. There will also be a climbing wall and an obstacle course there. Face painting, a petting zoo and horse rides will be offered, too.
The Mt. Blue High School Blue Crew Robotics team will have a robot demonstration on Saturday.
The Wilton Congregational Church will have a chicken barbecue at 5 p.m. Friday until sold out at 386 Main St. The United Methodist Church will be serving a bag lobster meal from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at 600 Main St. St. Luke’s Church will hold an annual lobster roll lunch at 11 a.m. on Saturday at 59 Main St.
The Wilton Lions Club will hold its annual pancake breakfast from 7-10 a.m. Saturday at 300 Main St.
Some of the businesses downtown will have outdoor service, Woodard said.
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