Cortney Spiegel, 2008 Romeo Peach Queen, poses in Romeo Village Park. Spiegel will participate in this year¹s Floral Parade on Sept. 1 at 1:30 p.m. Source photo by Matt December

The Michigan Peach Festival of Romeo runs from Aug. 28 through Labor Day, and offers several new activities this year to keep the event fresh.

Among the new events this year is Harley Night, which replaces Romeo Idol, at Romeo Lions Field on Aug. 28.

Gary Schocke, Peach Festival president, said he expected the new events, along with other traditional events, to come off nicely.

“I think everything is going to turn out OK,” he said. “The car show, the craft show, the fly-in - we expect a very good weekend.”

Schocke said during the 5-day weekend, depending on the weather, the festival can expect approximately 200,000 to 300,000 visitors.

“It is a family event,” he said. “We get a lot of families and kids out to the carnival, the car show, the craft show, even to the different sporting events like the softball and tennis tournaments.”

Schocke said the event couldn’t happen without all the hard work of area volunteers, especially from groups like the Lions Club.

“We get 30 or 40 guys who work really hard on the festival, getting the field ready, getting the car show ready,” he said. “There is a lot of work to be done. There are a lot of people that participate to make sure everything happens.”

The 2008 Romeo Peach Queen, Cortney Spiegel, said she has enjoyed her summer as Peach Queen, but said she is really looking forward to the Peach Festival.

“I’ve enjoyed all the parades, all the towns around us. That has been a lot of fun,” she said. “I

want to meet as many people as I can. That is my goal, pretty much.”

The Peach Festival begins the morning of Aug. 28 and finishes up the night of Sept. 1.

Thursday, Aug. 28:

This year, the festivities begin with the opening reception of the annual Thumb Area Artist Exhibition at 11 a.m., at the Starkweather Art and Cultural Center.

Also that day, the Romeo Lions Club will operate its sausage shack at Lions Field from 4 p.m. to midnight.

For a different taste in food, the Romeo High School girls swimming and dive team will host a spaghetti dinner at the high school from 4 to 7 p.m.

At 7 p.m., Romeo High School will also be the site for the beginning of the 17th annual 5-K Running Race.

From 6 p.m. to midnight, a refreshment tent at Lions Field will include music by a disc jockey. Harley Night at Lions Field begins at 8 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 29:

The Peach Festival Tennis Tournaments run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the Romeo High School tennis courts.

The carnival opens at 4 p.m. and runs until 11 p.m.

The St. Clement Knights of Columbus will host a pasta dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. at St. Clement Church, 3435 S. Main Street in Romeo.

Also that evening, the 27th annual Peach Festival Soccer Tournament starts at 5 p.m. at several fields in the Romeo area. For more information, call 781-2043.

For residents with a sweet tooth, the Romeo Masonic Temple will serve peach pie, among other food and refreshments, from 5 to 11 p.m.

The refreshment tent will be open from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., and will feature live music.

The Lions Club will also have Las Vegas-style games at the clubhouse from 6:30 to 11 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 30:

Events for children of all ages begin at Romeo Village Park at 8:30 a.m. The events will include a stuffed animal costume contest, potato sack races, 3-legged races, book balance relays, bean bag relays, water balloon tosses and much more. The events will run all morning until 1:30 p.m., when the Chatauqua Express will begin its children’s concert.

The Romeo Lion’s Sausage Shack will open with different foods and refreshments from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

One of the new events this year is the Mid-Michigan Wrestling Association Professional Wrestling Show at Romeo Lions Field. The show begins at 1 p.m. and runs approximately three hours.

The Macomb County Sheriff’s Aviation Division will offer a pulled pork dinner from 4 to 8 p.m., and a Texas Hold’Em tournament from 4 to 10 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 31:

From 7 a.m. to noon, the Peach Festival Fly-in and Farmer’s Breakfast takes place at the Romeo State Airport. For more information, call 540-7133.

The Romeo Ford Engine Plant will be the site of the Festival of Cars, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Car show and cruise registration runs from 8 a.m. to noon.

The annual arts and crafts show at Frontier Town begins at 11 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m.

The annual bed races will start downtown at 7:30 p.m., with the Romeo Lion’s Car Show and Cruise to follow at 8 p.m. The Night Parade will start immediately following the car show at 8:30 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 1:

On Sept. 1, the final day of the Peach Festival, the annual Children’s Parade will get the day going on Main Street with a parade themed “Let’s Go to the Movies.”

Also that morning, the Artistic Reflections Fine Arts and Crafts 22nd annual Crafty Labor show takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Croswell Elementary School.

This will also be the last day for the carnival, which runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

In the afternoon, the annual Floral Parade starts on Main Street at 1:30 p.m.

The festival will finish up that night with several events, including the refreshment tent, music, Las Vegas games and more at Romeo Lions Field and clubhouse.

For more information on the Michigan Peach Festival of Romeo or to see a full schedule for the weekend, call the Romeo-Washington Chamber of Commerce at 752-4436 or visit the Peach Festival Web site at www.mipeachfest.com