GIBSONBURG, Ohio — It might be a year late thanks to COVID-19, but Sandusky County is celebrating its bicentennial this weekend.
"Johnny Appleseed will be here, Thomas Edison will be here, a traveling medicine man show. We've got a lot of craft vendors, we have eight to 10 food vendors, primitive encampments," said John Havens, chairman of the Sandusky Bicentennial Committee.
Happening now through Saturday, the village of Gibsonburg is hosting the Black Swamp Historical Festival at the White Star Park Barn & Cabins area.
It's the primary event celebrating Sandusky County's Bicentennial, which was technically last year.
Along with exhibitors, attendees can see the county's history inside of this traveling museum, which has already been touring the area.
"We finished it right before the state shut down. So, during the summertime, we did get clearance from the health department to take this to some events, and we equipped it with hand sanitizer and had a limit on people inside of it," said Kristina Smith, Sandusky Bicentennial Committee secretary.
Organizers say holding the event a year later than originally planned seems odd on paper, but after nearly 6 years of planning, it's important to make sure the county's history is properly shared and celebrated.
"This was supposed to be last year, so we're really at 201 years now. But it should have been last year, and we were able to save a lot of these events and keep moving them forward," said Havens.
The festivities kick back off Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
They will end the entire festival with a fireworks display over White Star Quarry.