Residents from Portage and the surrounding areas gathered to enjoy a weekend of fun at the Countryside Historical Festival on Saturday June 19 and Sunday June 20. The 23rd annual festival featured just about everything you could think of. There were various tents with handmade items for sale, historical reenactments took place, bingo was played, contests were held, food was for sale, and tours were available. The event was put on by the Countryside Historical Society.
Two of the main staples of the festival were the 100-year old farmhouse and a museum full of Portage history. The farmhouse was originally owned by the Tager family and still includes their original kitchen table. Every piece of furniture and décor has a story behind it.
On Saturday, the weekend got underway with the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Portage mayor Olga Velazquez and Porter County Sheriff Dave Lain. The main contest of the first day was fishing, with prizes going out to the largest fish caught and the most brought to shore.
Sunday several popular contests took place including karaoke, pie-eating, and watermelon-eating. The winner of the watermelon-eating contest was Saffron Regeski, a nine year old from Crete, IL. Regeski received a plant and gift certificates to various restaurants. Mickey Hines, a 12 year old visiting from Iowa, took home a $10 cash prize as the pie-eating champ. The karaoke contest used a format where the top three were selected by the judges and performed a second song. From there, the top two received cash prizes.
Also available at the Countryside Historical Festival were silent auctions, a free raffle, and music. The weekend of fun is expected to return for its 24th year next June.