ELLINGTON – Carrying on a tradition which has lasted more than a century, the Ellington Town Picnic will take place next weekend in the town square.

Festivities start Friday, July 31, at 6 p.m. when food vendors open their booths and a decorated bicycle, tricycle and stroller contest is held in the park. From 7-10 p.m., D.J. Dan Warren will be accommodate entertainment as games and contests will be provided for children.

The picnic will continue on to Saturday, Aug. 1, at 9:30 a.m. with a registration for a baby show at the Ellington Fire Hall on 29 Main St. in Ellington. The show starts at 10 a.m., and babies up to 18 months will be allowed to participate. Prizes will be given out for different awards such as curliest hair and farthest distance traveled to Ellington.

Other contests will continue on throughout the day. A wood-cutting contest in the park will take place at 11 a.m. and a pet show will follow at 11:30 a.m. after registration at 11:15. A horseshoe pitching contest will take place behind the library at 2 p.m.

“We have a cake and cupcake baking contest (at 1 p.m.),” said Mary Jane Griffith, treasurer of the Ellington Town Picnic Association. “We have an auction, and the money we raise from the auction goes to help fund the next year’s town picnic. So that auction is in the afternoon.”

At 6 p.m. the parade starts at the Ellington Town Hall and makes its way down Main Street and the day will end with a fireworks display at 10 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 2, will wrap up the Ellington Town Picnic with a non-denominatinoal church service at the Ellington Community church at 10 a.m., followed by the Southern Tier Mini Tractor Pullers at the town ball field on West Main Street at noon.

The Ellington Town Picnic received a grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation for the music provided at the festival.