Sesquicentennial schedule

The action begins Saturday with two free bus tours of the community, presented by the Tolono Historical Society. The bus will make stops at 115 historical locations around the community.

The 90-minute tours will depart from the Tolono VFW Hall, 302 E. Main St., at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Persons can make reservations at the historical society building, 101 W. Holden St., from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday and Wednesday and from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday. Historical society vice president Ralph Wollard said the museum will be open for tours during all three signup periods and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Also on Saturday:

The Tolono Public Library, 111 E Main St., will present a display of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia.

Farm and home antiques will be on display from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Township Building, 111 E. Holden St., and the I&I Tractor and Gas Engine Club will present an antique tractor show at the corner of Bourne and Reynolds streets.

The Tolono United Methodist Women will serve a sandwich lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Flower lovers can take part in the Town and Country Garden Walk from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets cost $5; proceeds go to the Tolono Fun Day festival.

At 4:15 p.m., there will be a salute to Tolono's 150 years with a pageant at the Lincoln marker along U.S. 45.

The 60th and final Tolono High School class reunion is at 6 p.m. at the Masonic Hall. According to Tolono historian and former Mayor Bill Kirby, the final Tolono High class graduated in 1949.

From June 19 to 23:

The Tolono Park District will host a day camp and baseball and softball tournaments at West Side Park.

On June 23:

A street dance, complete with a beer tent, is planned from 8 to 11:30 p.m. on Main Street. The Unity Rockettes dance team will have a Pepsi wagon, and the Tolono VFW Post will host a fish fry starting at 5 p.m.

The Tolono Public Library will demonstrate making balloon animals from 4 to 8 p.m., and helicopter rides will be available at the site of the former Tolono Grade School at Bourne and Reynolds streets.

On June 24, the sesquicentennial celebration will culminate with the annual Tolono Fun Day celebration:

Activities begin at 6:30 a.m. with a flag raising at West Side Park, followed by an outdoor ecumenical religious service featuring the Celebrate Life Singers.

The annual parade will begin marching through the streets of the village at 10 a.m. It begins at the corner of Central and Walnut streets and ends at West Side Park.

Fun Day Committee president Denny Davis said this year's theme is "Tolono Sesquicentennial 2006 – 150 years." The grand marshals will be any persons age 75 and older who were born in Tolono and who have lived there their entire lives.

The Fountain of Life Family Fellowship will be giving away clothing at the site of the old Tolono hotel on the west end of Main Street throughout the day.

On Main Street, the Illini Classic Car Collector Club will hold a trivia treasure hunt from noon to 3 p.m. The beer tent will be open from noon to 12:30 a.m., and the band Broken Day will perform from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

In addition to a flea market, a variety of activities are planned at West Side Park. Pony rides and a petting zoo will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A cow drop contest begins at noon, and the kiddie tractor pull starts at 1:30 p.m. Carnival games and a cookie walk are also planned.

Tolono native Keith Harden will perform a concert from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., followed by gospel singer David Hallie at 5 p.m. The Rockettes dance team show is at 6 p.m. Then the band Shadows of Doubt will appear on the main stage until dusk, when the Illini Statesmen sing the National Anthem.

The evening is highlighted by what is billed as one of the area's largest fireworks displays at dusk, presented by the Tolono-based Boom Boom Boys.

The day concludes on Main Street with a street dance featuring the band Renegade.