The annual Red Skelton Festival begins this evening and continues Saturday with a full slate of activities throughout town.
Tonight’s happenings required separate costs and registration but they include Red’s Pledge of Allegiance and Patriotism Talk and a new event this year, which is sold out, called Night at the Museum.
Saturday is Red’s 113th birthday and the annual parade is the main daily feature. Red Skelton Museum Executive Director Anne Pratt says it will step off at 11 a.m.
“and it’s mainly going to be on Main Street this year. A little of 5th Street and then all of Main Street down through 1st Street. So, if you want to watch that parade at 11:00 AM, be out there on Main Street and, uh, check it out. We have lots of shrine groups registered from all over the state and parts of Illinois, as well as a few independent clowns. We’ll have Mrs. Skelton, and one thing I’m really excited about is this sort of surprise entry. It’s a Judith Lynn band organ.”
Festival activities continue throughout the day with classic films, presentations, guided bus tours highlighting Red Skelton’s life in Vincennes, and an evening dinner with Mrs. Skelton followed by comedian Brian Hoffman’s Red Skelton tribute performance.
More information is available at https://www.redskeltonmuseum.com/
