By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The Annie Oakley Days Festival celebrated its 60th anniversary at this year’s event and organizers were pleased with how the event was received this year.

As always, one of the highlights of the festival always takes place before the festival even begins. The crowning of 2024 Miss Annie Oakley took place on Thursday. This year’s winner was Lauren Wright. This list of previous winners goes all the way back to 1966. The contest is unique in that the contestants are not judged. The winner is determined by skill. Whoever can hit a balloon target from the furthest distance with a BB gun is the winner.

One of the newer contests, which began in 2010, is also held prior to the start of the festival. This year’s Little Miss Annie Oakley and Little Mister Buffalo Bill are Naomi Perry and Leo Duke.

The Annie Oakley Parade always brings people to downtown Greenville and this year was no exception. Hundreds of people lined the parade route to witness a nearly hour-long parade that included a lot of local groups, organizations and businesses. Always a fan favorite is the show put on by the Antioch Shriners. Getting special notice this year was the GNB Banking Centers entry. Staff members carried a special flag display made of balloons. The Fort GreeneVille Daughters of the American Revolution also turned heads with a Tesla truck hauling their trailer filled with members of the organization. The entire parade can be viewed on The Daily Advocate Facebook Page.

There were a couple of new activities on the fairgrounds for the annual event. Jungle Island Zoo delighted those attending with an assortment of animals, including a camel and a llama. Kick Axe Mobile Axe Throwing gave visitors a chance to test their skills at throwing an axe.

Of course, there were plenty of returning events that drew crowds, such as the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association’s competition, car show, small dog races, historical bus tours, Darke County Civic Theatre’s Meldorama and the National Fast Draw Competition.

JoEllen Melling, Annie Oakley Festival president, said, “It’s been a great festival. I’ve been talking to the vendors, the vendors are happy. There’s a lot of activity out here.”

Melling said the festival is continually looking for ways to grow and add new attractions, which is why they added the Jungle Island Zoo and Kick Axe Mobile Axe Throwing to this year’s festival.

The Annie Oakley Festival is held the last full weekend of July at the Darke County Fairgrounds.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].