Music, road race, parade on the schedule for Belmont Old Home Day

BELMONT — The second Saturday in August is finally here, which means it’s time for the annual Belmont Old Home Day & Road Race.

“We have a great schedule of events here that start at 7 a.m. for the pancake breakfast under the Tioga Pavilion, ending the day at 9 p.m. with fireworks up at Bryant Field,” said Town Administrator Alicia Jipson at the Belmont Selectboard meeting on Aug. 6. “For entertainment, they have a daytime and an evening band, as well as a solo performer doing some midday entertainment.”

Launching the live entertainment for the day at 11 a.m. will be Granite State band Endless Skies, playing familiar rock, country, pop and folk tunes. Live at the bandstand at 6 p.m., Meredith-based Tightly Loose will perform melodies from David Bowie and Chris Stapleton to Led Zeppelin.

After pancakes, the 10-mile road race begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Village Green, where a slew of participants will hit the streets in an attempt to beat the heat. From 10 to 11 a.m., a second run will take place: the Tioga Fun Bubble Run, where, thanks to volunteers, thousands of bubbles will fill the covered bridge, transforming the everyday into something a little more magical.

And while intended for kids, there are no rules stopping adults and chaperones from partaking in some of the fun.

“Kids run through the covered bridge and back with bubbles blowing at them,” said Danielle St. Onge, director of parks & recreation for Belmont.

Attractions will be happening at two different locations. At the Village Green at 9 a.m., visitors can expect carnival-like activities. Later in the day, at Bryant Field at 6 p.m., the entertainment continues. There is also a vendor fair that attendees can check out.

The much-anticipated parade begins at 1 p.m. on Main Street. Thirteen different floats consisting of volunteers, businesses and nonprofits will create lasting memories for all in the audience.

A “fun and whimsical group of witches doing flash mob type dancing for pure entertainment” — The Wicked Witch of the Lakes Region — will take place at 2 p.m. at the Village Green.

“They’re always fun,” St. Onge said.

At 4:30 p.m., members of the Belmont Fire Department will host a barbecue dinner at the station on Gilmanton Road, with all the fixings.

Fireworks will officially wrap up the celebration day this year, making their return debut after last year’s hiatus.

“Everyone loves the fireworks,” Jipson said.

St. Onge agreed.

“The fireworks are back on,” she said. “We are having our fireworks this year. They are going up on the big field like they used to.”

For more information or to see the schedule of events, visit belmontnh.org/Pages/Index/111300/old-home-day.