The Tremont Turkey Festival ran from June 11th through the 13th this year! It was the 55th year that the festival has occurred. Last year it was not able to happen because of COVID restrictions, so this past weekend was an exciting time in Tremont, IL. The event is organized by community volunteers, who do an excellent job at making the festival an exciting time for the community. 

There were ten events that occurred during the three-day long event. These ten activities included: the carnival, a parade, an antique tractor pull, an antique corner, and more! Different music groups were also in attendance to provide additional entertainment to festival guests. The menu of food options was full of different variations of turkey meals. How could it not be when it is the turkey festival? There was also the Turkey Express, a drive-up car service that offered turkey sandwiches. 

The festival was alive and well this year, with large crowds of people at all events. To learn about the public opinion on the festival, I turned to recent Tremont High School graduate Paige McAllister, who stated, “I think that as a whole, everybody was just so happy to be back out there, and the weather has been perfect for it. There seems to be more people than normal for the food lines, the rides, and all the tents to look at everything. It’s just been really fun, and I think there were really good spirits after a year of not having it.” 

After discussing their experience at the festival with a few local community members who attended, I received many of the same responses. It was an amazing event that was perfect to bring the community back together. McAllister again described, “My personal experience with the turkey festival this year is how well they’ve put it together with all the things happening with COVID. They still made it look like it does every year, amazing. The food is delicious, and the rides are very fun.”

Although the overall experience was received the same way, individual favorites varied greatly. With as much as the festival has to offer, how could they not? Danvers local, Drew Bedwell, stated that his favorite part was the food being served. Other top choices included the duck game, quarter game, coin pusher, and balloon pop. Favorite rides mentioned were the zero gravity and rockstar. 

Becca Olson, a Tremont local, described her favorite part being “that I got to see friends and classmates that I graduated with and was able to catch up with them. And just seeing a sense of normalcy where everyone could just enjoy themselves without much care.” Walking through the festival gave the feeling of a normal way to spend the summer. When you saw all of the carnival rides flashing and how happy everyone was to be there, you couldn’t help but smile.

Losing a year only made this year’s festival more special for anyone who attended. McAllister explained how it was apparent that the festival was very missed for the small, central Illinois town. The Tremont Turkey Festival always brings the whole community together, including people from near-by towns. This year felt like a celebration of persevering through many of the struggles COVID brought. 

Aside from the feelings everyone had at the festival, the festival did not have many changes this year. A few rides were different than normal, but everything was mostly the same and many guests still were able to get their favorite ice cream treat in Tremont during their time there. Drew Bedwell stated, “It was amazing to get Pinky’s with the festival food in the hot weather.”

The Tremont Turkey Festival is a great experience for all ages. With all of the different options, you are sure to find something for you. Be sure to check out the festival next year if you were unable to make it this past weekend. It always occurs after school goes on summer break, as a way to kick off the summer!