Brighton’s Whoopee Days ‘going old school’

BRIGHTON — A 115-year-old town tradition returns to Brighton this week, with the annual Whoopee Days town festival planned June 20-22.

Brighton Chamber of Commerce President Chuck Emry said this year’s event would go “old school,” with the return of activities like duck-matching, magnet fishing, and a corn pit, as well as more recent interactive additions like a rock-climbing wall, and — new this year — a putt-putt golf course built by a chamber member.

Emry said the array of interactive family activities would hopefully drive turnout, entertain kids, and make the local festivity more financially sustainable.

“Carnivals aren’t affordable anymore,” he said. “We had a small carnival last year, we tried it for smaller kids, and it struggled. So we’re trying to do something different this year to be more interactive … we’ve tried to do everything in our power to keep it cheap, keep the cost down, because of our great sponsors.”

The weekend will, of course, also feature longtime favorite events for adults, including concerts, a car show involving Paralympic gold medalist Matt Stutzman, a mud run and a parade.

The effort to keep things fresh while honoring long-beloved traditions is a balancing act, according to Emry.

He credited the weekend’s diverse lineup of entertainment to a handful of monetary sponsors, and to numerous chamber members and volunteers.

“It takes an army of people to have ideas, to bring fresh ideas,” he said. “This is about a community, and we want to try to do good things for our community, bring people to our community … and as far as how to keep things fresh, it just takes ideas. And different people have different ideas.”

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