PLYMOUTH, Ind. (WSBT) — With just days before the Labor Day holiday weekend, vendors are preparing for the busy Marshall County Blueberry Festival.
This weekend marks the 59th annual Marshall County Blueberry Festival, which attracts nearly 500,000 visitors each year.
While the festival kicks off this weekend, preparation and setup for the festival began last Friday.
There will be more than 600 vendor booths, live music and entertainment, a carnival, fireworks — just about a little bit of everything, according to festival coordinator Tracy Houin.
We get over 500,000 people within a two to four-hour radius, so out of Marshall County, so a lot of the nonprofits that we have here will earn a lot of the money they need to fund their events for the year just over this weekend,” said Houin.
One nonprofit at the festival, the Marshall County Horse Association, will be selling blueberry milkshakes this weekend. They’ve stocked up on 300 cases of ice cream, knowing that they sell out every year.
All of the proceeds from the festival are donated to 4-H groups that involve activities related to horses.
In previous years, they’ve made $15,000 from one weekend at the festival alone, generating enough revenue for the nonprofit to sustain its business for the entire year.
This is the only money we make. This is the one-time shot, what we make and distribute out to 4-H kids throughout the year. our blueberry milkshakes are our main thing we make our money on all year long,” said Marshall County Horse Association President Allen Houin.
With thousands of people attending the festival over the weekend each year, Tracy says that not only do the nonprofits benefit from the revenue, but the other restaurants and hotels in the area also benefit, with a surge in visitors to the community.
The bigger days are Saturday and Sunday. We get about 500,000 visitors, which we’re anticipating that if not more because the weather is going to be gorgeous this weekend,” said Houin.
The festival takes place this Labor Day weekend, starting on Friday to Monday.