Homecomers schedule set, weekend hours added

This story has been edited to reflect a scheduling change.

Thousands are expected to attend the 112th annual Homecomers from July 23 to 27 in uptown Jackson.

With nearly nine entrances and the event being free to attend, Larry Koehler — chairman of the Homecomers’ committee — said it’s difficult to have an accurate attendance tally, aside from it being a “wild guess” of several thousand.

For more than 40 years, Jackson’s Homecomers celebration — which will be at East Main, North High and Court streets and Barton Square — has partnered with Fountain City Amusements from De Soto, Missouri. Last year, the company brought in nearly 15 rides. This year, Koehler said he expects about the same.

“I know the guy who owns [Fountain City Amusements] now. His dad used to own it when he was a kid. He always jokes he grew up in Jackson one week a year at Homecomers,” Koehler said.

Rides will open somewhere between 5 or 6 p.m. and run until 10 p.m. July 23 to 26, or until the crowd leaves, according to Larry Koehler.

And food vendors will be once again set up on Main Street mostly, he said, along with the recently added beer garden provided by the Jackson Elks Lodge.

“It’s just a good crowd up there,” Larry Koehler said.

Entertainment stage

Beverly Koehler said along with a performance by the Jackson Municipal Band as part of the opening night festivities July 23, state Rep. Barry Hovis will provide a presentation dedicated to Vietnam veterans.

And theatrical group Between the Scenes is set to present a Bob Hope-style USO show opening night, she said.

“They did a scene out of ‘Hamilton’ last year, and it was kind of last minute, so it wasn’t a full production,” Beverly Koehler said.

Koehler said “Family Feud” will once again be featured this year. Montgomery Bank is coordinating the event, she said, and is looking for teams of five for the game show.

Jackson High School Guitar Club will perform July 24, which is a new addition to the annual lineup, she said.

“They contacted me, so I said, ‘Yes, we’d love to have you,’” Beverly Koehler said.

Local bands SilverFox, The Theory and Bob Dolle Band also will perform atop a new stage.

“We actually had it last year. It’s all on hydraulics,” she said. “They pull it up, they have some remotes that open it up, and then they put a couple of jacks under it and it’s done.”

And even though American Legion members still assist with the five-day event, she said acquiring more volunteers is becoming “more and more of an issue.”

The complete entertainment lineup for July 27 is not finalized, according to Koehler.

Jackson American Legion Post 158 has sponsored Homecomers since the late 1930s.

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