By Nicole Guth

Special to The Ridgway Record

Welcome back the 27th annual Ridgway Independence Festival taking place June 26–27. Free entertainment, food and fun returns once again, this year in downtown on Court Street.
The festival was not held last year because of financial problems, according to Nancy Kelley, president of the festival organizing committee.
Money for the festival is brought in by the vendors and sponsors, said Kelley. The area businesses donate the trophies, t-shirts and prizes.
“We’ve had to scale down quite a bit because the funding just isn’t there, but we knew that if [the festival] was gone two years, it would be gone forever,” Kelley said.
Donations are accepted to offset costs and any leftover money goes right into next year’s festival.
“There’s no money to sit on,” Kelley said. “We’re not at half of what we normally have. [The festival] is a tough thing to do with the economy, but we just want to  give people something to enjoy.”
Some of the festival’s events include hot dog and pie eating contests, a car show and local bands, including DTK, the Ridge-Runners and Rapper Dee.
A Saturday night slot is still available for another band interested in playing.
A talent show is also being held to showcase any sort of talent and performers are encouraged to enter.
In addition, there will be a beautiful baby contest and a perfect pooch contest. All you need to do in order to enter is to decorate a can with a picture of your baby or pooch. The baby with the most votes wins a savings bond, while the pooch will win a treat basket.
While the number of food vendors has been scaled down, the amount of food hasn’t. People can still expect the same foods, including gyros, steak subs and cotton candy, according to Kelley.
“Last year I had people telling me that they hoped we were bringing the festival back,” Kelley said. “[People] love the festival.”
If interested in opening a booth, volunteering or making a donation, please contact Nancy at 772-0158 or Marie at 772-6489.
For more information, visit www.ridgdwayindependencefestival.com