BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
FRANKLIN -- When Cincinnati fires up its end-of-summer boom Sunday, this Warren County city will answer with its own annual Labor Day blow-out.
The city's River Days kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday and will feature three days of music, rides, demonstrations and about 60 booths selling everything from crafts to pizza. The festival will wrap up at 10:45 p.m. Sunday with fireworks.
The festival, along four blocks of Main Street, is distinctively local.
"It's a festival designed for the local groups to make money," said Franklin Mayor James Mears. "It has a lot of local entertainment."
The lineup includes a bluegrass show Friday, a parade through town Saturday and a car show Sunday. Sandwiched between will be the Miss River Days Pageant, a roaming clown, a dance theater, a basketball tournament, a pet show and church services Sunday morning.
"The city does this because it gives them some identification," Mr. Mears said. "It brings the city and residents together and everybody downtown."
River Days dates to 1980, but it no longer is held along the banks of the Great Miami River. Mosquitoes and logistics problems chased it to Main Street several years ago, Mr. Mears said. A committee of 11 coordinates the festival, which draws about 8,000 over the weekend.
