A stuffed Basket Festival returns to Berlin Heights

BERLIN HEIGHTS — Get ready for Berlin Heights' annual summer festival this weekend.The Berlin Heights Basket Festival takes place Friday through Sunday at 20 E. Main St. near Edison Middle School."The Basket Festival started in 1983. Before that, there was the harvest festival but that stopped around 1981," festival organizer Lance Horwedel said.The festival was named to celebrate the Patterson family's Berlin Fruit Box Co. which made baskets out of material from local orchards. The company may have closed years ago, but the village continues to celebrate its history and the festival has continued to grow.The festival features many family-friendly activities, which kids of all ages will enjoy, including a human soccer ball, dodgeball games and bouncy houses, Horwedel said.The fun begins Friday with the queen's contest, live music by the Lonely Nights and the beer tent. On Saturday, festival favorites such as the Kiddie Tractor Pull, the grand parade, the car show, fireworks and more, take place."We're having the firework display for the second year so that's going to be fun," Horwedel said. "Lil' John from 'The Big Chuck and Lil' John Show' will be in the parade and signing autographs and taking photos afterword.""The Big Chuck and Lil' John Show" was a program that featured comedy skits and presentations of horror shows. It ran on TV in Cleveland from 1979 to 2007."That's probably the newest things that most people are excited about," Horwedel said.The festival ends Sunday with the 5K race and the pancake breakfast at the Berlin Township Fire Hall.Editor's note: This article has been update to remove a reference to an event accidentally included in this year's schedule.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterCommunity members walk on Center Street as they pick something to eat for dinner at the Basket Festival in Berlin Heights on Friday, Aug. 4, 2017.