Troy Lions Homecoming is July 21-23
Plan to “Sparkle Like a Diamond” at this year’s 75th Troy Lions Club Homecoming.
“We are very excited to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the Troy Lions Club” said Dan Jackson, president of the Troy Lions Club. “We have numerous changes in store for the 2016 Homecoming — changes that I think folks will really like. We hope these changes (some suggested by Troy residents) will draw many more people to the homecoming. Please come out and enjoy the entertainment and activities that we have in store for you.”
This year’s Troy Lions Club will be held at the Tri-Township Park in Troy Thursday, July 21 through Saturday, July 23, with the event opening at 5 p.m. all three nights.
“We are providing new entertainment groups and new amusement rides, a different look to the beer stand and more food selections for our festival-goers” said Troy Lions Club member Jean Myers. “The bands have told us to prepare for a significantly larger crowd than we’ve enjoyed in the past. We encourage you to come join the fun.”
The Community Band will be playing at the gazebo on Friday night, and the Shriners will be playing in front of the bandstand on Saturday night, both playing from 7:30 until 8 p.m. On Friday night, Baywolfe will be featured on stage. Baywolfe plays a wide variety of music and can be seen locally almost every weekend. On Saturday night, Well Hungarians will be featured. and they also play a wide variety of music. Both bands will play from 8 p.m. until midnight. Be sure to bring your lawn chairs and your dancing shoes.
The rides will be provided by Premier Works out of Marine. Premier offers a wide variety of rides and carnival food. You may purchase advance tickets at a discounted rate at many locations in Troy, including Schuette’s Market, Troy City Hall, A&R Paints and Crafts, TheBANK of Edwardsville, Scott Credit Union, Troy Early Childhood and A Place 2 Grow.
This year, there will be a parade all three nights. The Troy Community In Action Group will present a character children’s parade on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m., where you will find many of your favorite characters. The parade begins on Wickliffe, just west of Riggin Road, and proceeds east on Wickliffe to the Wiesemeyer Center.
Thursday night is “Family Night.” DJ Big Papa G has a fun evening planned with the kids, playing some games and dancing. All rides are buy one, get one free from 5 to 9 p.m., with a character parade starting at 6:30 p.m., which will run inside the park, down Wickliffe. Be sure to stay around for pictures with your favorite characters. Food trucks and the Boy Scouts will be on hand and you can sample a variety of food and of course music from Big Papa G. The soda stand will be selling juice boxes for the kids. Advanced reduce ride tickets are available until Thursday, July 21 at noon at various locations in town.
On Friday and Saturday night, the parades will begin at 6:30 p.m. (with line up at Market between Hickory and Dewey) and will run from there into the Tri-Township Park and end at Wynona. The theme is “Shine Like A Diamond,” so everyone is encouraged to decorate their entry for the theme. Floats will be judged, and prizes awarded for the floats that best follow the homecoming theme.
Food and soda will also be available, along with grassroot stands, and even a new event layout. For the adults, aluminum canned beer has been added to the lineup. There will also be a couple of choices of Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
For more information, visit troymaryvillecoc.com.
Food Trucks Coming to Troy Homecoming
Have you ever experienced the unique choices from a food truck? You will have the chance on Thursday night, July 21, which is opening night for the Troy Lions 75th Annual Homecoming, at the Tri-Township Park in Troy.
The food trucks attending the event will include:
▪ 2 Girls 4 Wheels: cheese steak, white chicken chili, grilled cheese, brats, hot dogs, billy goat chips, Parmesan Brussel sprouts.
▪ Waynos International: Jamaican tacos, Asian shrimp wrap, Mexican quesadillas, FalaFal, Malaysian, cashew chicken.
▪ St. Louisiana/Chef Papa T: pulled pork, New Orleans nachos, red beans and rice, gator pie, and swamp salad.
▪ Steamrollers: specializes in deli and 10 different bagels.
▪ Destination Desserts: cupcakes, cookies, gooey butter cake, and ice cream sundaes.
▪ Jive Turkey LLC: Smoked turkey legs, smoked chicken wings.
For specific food truck information visit www.stlfta.com. Food trucks will be at the event on Thursday night from 5 to 9 p.m.
This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Troy Lions Homecoming is July 21-23."