Sparta is 175 years old this year, so let’s celebrate during Town and Country Days. Our beloved week brings many changes, many out of our control!
Wednesday, July 14th
Kicking the Town & Country Days off, at 11 am in Rogers Park Bandshell we will have Mary Riley of Purplesfull Puppets perform Tallulah: Mermaid of the Great Lakes. Come to see if you can find your gemstone. Free to everyone. Bring a blanket for seating!
Later in the night at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, Concerts in the Park featuring: the Denise Anderson Connection! We are so excited to have them back. The Lions Chicken Dinner is $10 each served from 5 pm until gone. As always, Big Mike’s Kettle Corn will provide the sweets and lemonade. Cocktails-to-Go will be happening like every Wednesday!
Thursday, July 15th
Come down to the Town Square for our Market starting at 4 pm. We will have all of the regular vendors plus some for only that night. Brookie & the Nice will be performing at 6 pm. Do not forget to bring the kids. They can do our take and make kids craft of the night from 6:30-7:30 pm. Also, we will be serving up Cocktails-to-Go from local restaurants so adults can enjoy a beverage, and even better, we grab it and bring it to you! Local boutiques will be hosting sidewalk sales, too! Come and have fun while supporting local businesses.
Friday, July 16th
Alumni Night! Everyone 21+ can come to the beer tent at its new location, 2124 - 12 Mile Road. The Trixy Tang Band at 9 pm. Cash only, and it is only a $10 entry fee. Trixy Tang Band is a band that does classic rock and every some of their songs.
For Sparta residents in town, there will be a FREE uber driver picking up and dropping off patrons on Friday, July 16 starting at 8:00 pm at the large Christmas Tree until 12:30 am. -This will be a continuous shuttle bringing folks to the Beer tent at 2124 – 12 Mile Road and dropping patrons back off at the large Christmas Tree (201 E. Division, Sparta) until 12:30 am that night. Tips for the driver are appreciated.
Saturday, July 17th
We will have our Town and Country Days Parade, which has a new time at 10:30 am to start the day off. At the end of the parade, we will be having a tremendous birthday celebration for Sparta’s 175th year. There will be 5 bouncy houses, kid's free games, food including Patty Matters Food Truck and Papa Piccione's Pizza by the Slice on site, and more in our Town Square. Be sure to be one of the first to celebrate 175 years with a free ice cream treat (limited supply) and a collectible 175 Sparta Birthday key chain!
At 2124 12 Mile Road, there will be 300 Dirt Drags with a $10 per person entry fee and 12 and younger free ((cash only)). Racers or driver's entry fee is $20. The racing starts around 2 pm. Bring lawn chair seating, enjoy pizza by the slice and hot dogs for food on site!
Our annual Family Farm Night will be in a new location, 2124 12 Mile Road. Starting at 5:30 pm and it is accessible to the public (free entry onto the grounds starts at 5:30 pm). We will have Hay Bale Toss, Kiddie Tractor Pull, and more. After all of that fun, at 10:15 pm, we will have the Fireworks at the exact location as the Family Farm Night. You can watch the fireworks from the comfort of your vehicle or bring out a lawn chair and enjoy.
Our traditional week of festivities looks different, but we are pleased we can spread out the activities and continue to bring happy memories throughout the season with our entire series of I LOVE SUMMER IN SPARTA events!
Sparta Town & Country Days FAQ’s: - This is a Town & Country Days Event that is located both downtown Sparta which includes Concert in Rogers Park on Wednesday at 6:30 pm; Parade on Saturday at 10:30 am; Sparta 175th Birthday Celebration from Noon – 3 pm downtown, and Lions Chicken Dinner on Wednesday, Puppet Show on Wednesday, Thursday on the Square Market & Music, and events held at 2124 – 12 Mile Road, Sparta, MI which festivities include: Alumni Beer Tent, Trixy Tang band, Dirt Drags Racing, Entertainment Tent, Family Farm Fun including Hay Bale Tosses and Kiddie and Adult Pedal Tractor Pulls, and Fireworks Show. (see flier) Why change anything at all this year? The Town & Country Day carnival went out of business, which means we lost one of the anchors of the event. The Truck & Tractor Pull Sled (a piece of equipment used for the Truck & Tractor Pull used on Saturday afternoon) was booked at a different festival for that weekend.
- Town & Country Days is leasing the property at 2124 – 12 Mile Road, Sparta, MI 49345 for $1.00. All proceeds from the event belong to Town & Country Days, which helps fund the rest of the summer activities like Concerts in Rogers Park and our I Love Summer in Sparta T-shirts
- All sales will be Cash Only (there will be an ATM on-site!) - No Coolers allowed on-premise, all alcohol must be purchased at the Town & Country beer tent - Beer Prices: $4.00 for Bud, Bud Light, $4.00 Seltzers, Water & Pop $2.00 o $10 cover charge Friday night (Trixy Tang starts around 9 pm). Friday only, ages 21 and up are allowed. Food on site: Hot Dogs, pizza by the slice o Beer Tent Opens Friday, July 16 at 7 pm, closes at 12:30 am - There will be a FREE uber driver picking up and dropping off patrons on Friday, July 16 starting at 8:00 pm at the large Christmas Tree until 12:30 am. - This will be a continuous shuttle bringing folks to the Beer tent at 2124 – 12 Mile Road and dropping patrons back off at the large Christmas Tree (201 E. Division, Sparta) until 12:30 am that night. Tips for the driver are appreciated. - $10 per person entrance fee Saturday for Dirt Drags; gates open at Noon, racing begins around 1 pm; ages 12 & under are free; all ages are welcome to enter the grounds. Food on site: Hot Dogs, pizza by the slice. - Free entry after 5:30 pm on Saturday; Farm fun Saturday for the whole family before the fireworks including Adult & Children Hay Bale Toss at The decision to move the beer tent stemmed from the infrastructure costs associated with the tent/tables/porta potties rentals, fence installation, insurance costs, that come with the expense of the beer tent event, regardless of how many people visit the tent or purchase drinks. With the limited entertainment scheduled, the decision was made to partner the beer tent onto the site that a dirt race was already being scheduled in hopes to make additional funds in the beer tent. While we would have loved to keep the beer tent downtown, without the volunteers to host entertainments (the volunteers to put on a tractor pull, etc.) the costs to put on the beer tent for just one night didn’t make sense. Instead of completely canceling the beer tent for 2021, we decided to try a new opportunity. The volunteers involved to plan this event spend dozens of hours organizing and make it possible. Thanks for your support! --Sparta Town & Country Volunteers
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