Havre de Grace Main Street Preps for Graw Days Festival

Graw Days is coming up this weekend, and Havre de Grace Main Street is getting ready for the annual affair.

This year’s theme is the “Roaring Twenties, the Dirty Thirties, and the Fighting Forties,” according to Havre de Grace Main Street, which organizes the celebration.

Downtown will be packed with visitors, vendors and entertainment in celebration of Havre de Grace’s ties to the horse racing history, particularly The Graw racetrack, for which the festival is named. The old track used to be in the area where the National Guard campus is now, at Post Road and Old Bay Lane. It was in operation from 1912 to 1950. Visitors can take tours of the old clubhouse at the Graw Days festival.

Graw Days will be held on Saturday, Oct. 11, rain or shine, and include these attractions:

• Children’s area with crafts, games, face painting, moon bounces and children’s stage with music and other entertainment; 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Pennington Avenue.
• The Tidewater Players perform music from 1900 to 1940 in a 30-minute musical revue. Admission is free; performances every hour on the hour at the Opera House, 100 block of North Union Avenue.
• Great American Trolley ride to see the old Graw clubhouse. Cost is $1 for an all-day pass. Tickets will be sold at festival ticket booths, Main Street pavilion on Pennington Avenue and at the corner of St. John Street and Franklin Street; 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Outdoor restaurant seating until 9:30 p.m.

Volunteers help put together the annual festival, and more are needed, according to Main Street. The final Graw Days planning meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 8. Meet at Office Centre, 309 North Union Avenue, in Havre de Grace.

Related: HdG Main Street Seeks 100 Volunteers for Graw Days

Graw Days will be from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m on Saturday, Oct. 11, in downtown Havre de Grace. Admission is free.