ROCKVILLE, Ind. — Longtime Parke County residents didn’t realize what a gem they had in covered bridges when someone suggested having a festival.

That first festival in 1957 was a three-day event, but that was a start.

This year, county residents throw out the welcome mat for the 53rd annual Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, which opens Friday and runs through Oct. 18.

“The phones have been ringing constantly,” said Cathy Harkrider, executive secretary of Parke County Inc., the organization that puts on the festival each year with hundreds of volunteers. “We are having a real good response.”

Headquartered on the courthouse square, the festival offers food served by many of the county’s non-profit organizations that use the proceeds throughout most the year.

A large tent and streets around the courthouse are filled with crafts and vendors from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT daily. Some have been coming to the festival since the 1957 beginning.

This year’s offerings in Rockville have expanded with a tent on the northeast corner of U.S. Route 36 and Jefferson Street, where a soda shop once was located.

“It is amazing,” said Kevin Madison, who is in charge of vendors and bus tours. “We probably have 40-45 additional vendors.”

The Jefferson Street Market will be a new area just east of the courthouse square. Madison said one area of that area will feature children’s items.

Free entertainment is scheduled on the south side of the courthouse throughout each day.

Oct. 14 will be the annual Salute to Veterans. Army Sgt. 1st class John B. Adams of nearby Vigo County will speak. He is one of nine soldiers in the Army designated as a “real hero.”

Dane Bailey, known as the singing auctioneer from Fort Wayne, will sign patriotic numbers.

“”We like to give a special tribute to our local veterans,” Harkrider said.

Entertainment throughout the 10 days will include local talent, the 4-H Cloggers and an Elvis impersonator.

While none of the bridges is marking milestones this year, Melcher Covered Bridge east of Montezuma has been designated as the featured bridge.

Bus tours leave the square daily from the tour booth located on the northwest corner of the square. The guided buses will go through several covered bridges, tour the countryside and stop in some of the county towns.

“A lot of people like the three-hour tours,” Madison said. Buses will go to the north, west and south parts of the county on three of the five routes. All five routes are accessible by car.

Montezuma has its pig roast and tours of the Wabash and Erie Canal. Tangier is famous for its buried beef; apple butter making is on tap in Bloomington; Mecca has a restored one-room school; and Bridgeton and Mansfield feature crafts and flea markets.

Billie Creek Village, Parke County’s turn-of-the-century village a mile east of Rockville, features 30 historical buildings and three covered bridges. You can stroll in the past with crafts and pioneer foods. Admission is $7.

The Parke Players will present the melodrama “The Faces on the Barroom Floor” most nights at the Ritz Theater. Tickets are $6.

Harkrider is expecting large crowds throughout the 10 days.

“We really hope the weather holds off so we can have a good festival,” she said.

IF YOU GO

To reach Parke County, go south on Indiana Route 63 from Interstate 74 to U.S. Route 36, then go west, or take U.S. Route 41 south from I-74.

For additional information, call (765) 569-5226 or e-mail pci@ticz.com. During the festival, call (765) 569-2020 for tours or information.