While nearly every festival in the region has been canceled this year due to the COVID-19, Morris believes the Carlisle Railroad Days committee has taken the proper safety precautions.
There will be fewer booths this year and the bouncy houses and dunking booth have been eliminated so the grounds will be less congested, Morris said. He also said there will be fewer participants in the Saturday morning parade.
Morris said people will be encouraged to wear masks and everyone must stay at least six feet apart. He said sanitation stations will be available throughout the festival grounds.
“If people use common sense, we’ll be completely fine,” he said.
While rain in the forecast for Friday, there was a last-minute lineup change to the entertainment. The Richard Lynch Band canceled and has been replaced by a local band, The Burress Brothers.
Sandra Diver, whose husband, Ron, 81, died on April 4, is the grand marshal of the Carlisle Railroad Days parade that starts at 9 a.m. Saturday from Roscoe Roof Park and winds throughout the village.
Morris called Sandra Diver “a Carlisle legend” and she and her late husband were “amazing people.”
He said naming Diver grand marshal was the best way for the Carlisle community to show its appreciation for what the couple meant. Ron Diver was “a cornerstone” of the village and his wife was always by this side, Morris said.
Diver was “a key piece” of running Carlisle Railroad Days for about 20 years, Morris said.
He served 28 years on the Carlisle Local School Board of Education and in 1998 was elected president of the Ohio School Boards Association. He was a member of the Carlisle Lions Club for nearly 50 years.
In 1995, he was named “Citizen of the Year” by the former Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce.
HOW TO GO
WHAT: Carlisle Railroad Days
WHEN: 5-10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday
PARADE: 9 a.m. Saturday lines up Roscoe Roof Park
BAND LINEUP: 7-10 pm. Friday, The Burress Brothers; 2-4 p.m. Saturday, 9Eight Central; 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Jacob William
WHERE: Carlisle Baseball Association Fields, Fairview Avenue
MORE INFORMATION: Carlisle Railroad Days 2020 Facebook page
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