2025 Festival of the Bells plans underway; deadline approaching for queens pageant, 5k run
(HCP file photo)
The 2025 Festival of the Bells is less than a month away, with the committee finalizing all the plans for three days of summer fun July 10-12 at its temporary location at the Highland County Fairgrounds this year.
The Festival will have the theme “Let the Good Times Roll,” with a return to the fairgrounds for the first time in many years due to construction at Crossroads Park.
As previously reported, the Festival will open with the traditional Christian night with Christian pop artist Austin French.
Friday will be an all-new featured night, called “Rock the Bell,” with two rock cover bands: CAPTURED Louisville, a Journey tribute band, and Simply Queen, a Queen tribute band, sponsored by Hillsboro Eagles 1161.
Saturday will offer a variety of genres with several opening acts (Over the Herd, Kyle Norris, Sean Poole & Buckin Krazy) before ’90s country band Ricochet closes out as festival headliners.
With the festival approaching, there are also deadlines coming up for several of the activities.
Entries for the Festival of the Bells Queen Contest will be accepted until June 23. Any single girl of high school age, including those entering 10th grade for the 2025-26 school year, or from the graduating class of 2025, may enter. A $500 scholarship will be awarded to the individual selected as queen upon their high school graduation.
The Queen Contest is open to girls from Highland County as well as Adams County, Brown County, Clinton County, Fayette County, Pike County and Ross County. The entry fee is $25, which should be paid by a sponsoring individual or business, and applications can be completed at https://forms.gle/j7Q8oPmnb9NvRqRh6.
From there, queen contestants will be required to attend a one-on-one interview at the Scott House on June 28 and to compete in the contest July 10, with the winner being required to attend all three days of the festival, including participating in the parade and making appearances at various activities. See the link above for more rules and regulations.
The annual Festival of the Bells 5k will be held Saturday, July 12 at 8 a.m. Preregistration by Wednesday, June 30 is requested to be guaranteed a shirt, although you can register up to the day of the event. The cost is $25, and registration can be completed online at https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/Hillsboro/FestivaloftheBells5k.
Following the 5K, there will also be a Kids Fun Run Saturday at 9:30 a.m. for runners 11 and under. The cost is $5, and preregistration can also be completed online at https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/Hillsboro/FestivaloftheBells5k.
Other activities planned throughout the weekend include a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, car show, food, crafts and more. The Festival of the Bells committee is posting frequent updates with information on new vendors for this year’s festival and other news. To see more, please follow the committee at https://www.facebook.com/festivalofthebells.
For more information on this year’s entertainment, see the story at: https://highlandcountypress.com/news/2025-festival-bells-entertainment-….
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