BATESVILLE — A new menu item will be served at this year’s Sunman Rural Fire Department firemen’s festival.

“We’re going to have smoked pork chops rather than fish Friday night,” reports fest chairman Warren Bruns. SRFD auxiliary members will serve the dinners (please see above box for times), which also include scalloped potatoes, french fries, green beans, coleslaw, bread, applesauce, dessert and a drink for $9.

The 13th annual Hoosier Wooden Bat Softball Tournament kicks off that evening and continues Saturday morning. “We normally have 14 or 15 teams. The draw for the pairings will be June 6 at 7 p.m. at the firehouse,” Bruns reveals. For more information or to sign up a team, persons can call the department at 812-623-2498 and leave a message.

Live bands will take the stage both evenings, featuring a variety of country and rock tunes.

On Saturday, June 9, the annual parade begins at noon. Participants, who do not have to preregister, can start lining up at 11 a.m. at the Sunman Elementary School parking lot. The procession will travel south on Main Street, then turn east on Eastern Avenue into the Sunman American Legion parking lot.

A fried chicken dinner buffet with mashed potatoes, french fries, corn, coleslaw, applesauce, roll, dessert and a drink will be available that afternoon for $10.  

Other attractions include a tent with kids’ games and bouncy houses with a slide and tunnel. The kids’ tractor pull each night is “usually pretty popular, too, not only among the kids, but also with the crowd,” the chairman recalls.

Raffle winners of cash prizes (grand prize, $500; second place, $400; third place, $300; fourth place, $200; and fifth place, $100) will be announced Saturday night. Tickets, costing $1 each or seven for $5, can be purchased from firefighters or at the fest.

Activities continue into the evening hours both days. The kids’ games generally close down around 9 p.m., but the gaming for the adults, which include the Big 6 and card games, usually stays open until 10 or 11 p.m. The lunch stand will be available until late in the evening, and the bands will play until about midnight, he says.

“Our main objective is to raise funds for the fire department .... We use all the proceeds to buy equipment, like trucks, breathing apparatus or personal protective gear.”

Bruns encourages people to attend the fest because “it’s a good time for people to get together and visit and have fun.”

Sunman Firemen’s Festival

Dates: Friday, June 8 and Saturday June 9

Place: Community park

Friday Activities: 4:30-8 p.m.-Pork chop dinners; 6 p.m.-Kids’ tractor pull; 8 p.m.- Innersoul American Stories

Saturday Activities: noon, Parade ; 4-8 p.m., Fried chicken dinners; 6 p.m.-Kids’ tractor pull; 8 p.m.- Exit 156, Second Nature  Band

Both days: wood bat softball tourney, games, kids’ amusements, raffle, lunch stand, beer garden