Celebrate Arts

Decatur Celebration is one of the most aggressive quality of life festivals in the Midwest exposing the public to the visual, educational and performing arts. The festival boasts its ability to attract the public through commercial entertainment and subliminally expose the leisure visitor that came seeking family fun and food to the wonderful artistic attractions typically offered only in a strictly arts environment.

For 26 years and counting, the Decatur Celebration has presented artistic attractions including:

  • The World Famous Mummers Woodland String Band
  • The US Air Force Band featuring sixty classically trained musicians
  • Over 80 juried arts and crafters
  • The Dirty Car Artist whose work has been featured on the History Channel
  • Speeches and stories by the World’s #1 Abraham Lincoln Impersonator, Fritz Klein
  • Historic figures strolling through the crowd and talking to the public about history, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ben Franklin, Buffalo Bill, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War Re-enactors, and Revolutionary War Re-enactors.
  • North American Indian Hoop Dance Festival
  • North American Town Criers Competition
  • The Taiko Drums of Japan
  • Japanese Dancers
  • The most talented street performers in the world
  • An Italian Opera singer
  • Lori Escalera, the Top Five street chalk artist in the world
  • National Lego Building Expo
  • Circus Arts from the Flying Wallendas to the Italian National Circus
  • National Spam Carving Competition
  • Original crafters from broom makers to paper makers
  • Department of National Wildlife’s Fish Exhibit
  • Midwest Log Carving Competition
  • Dance Ensembles from Africa, Norway, Greece, Ireland, and Finland
  • The Junk Band, playing music on items made from the junk yard
  • Midwest Rail Splitting Competition
  • One of the country’s foremost collectors of Beatles memorabilia
  • The Olympic Brass Band from New Orleans
  • The World’s foremost Etch-A-Sketch Artist
  • Illinois Ice Carving Competition
  • Over 100 juried arts and crafters each year

Decatur Celebration is unique in its success in blending commercial appeal with the visual, educational, and performing arts … making is one of the most entertaining and informational festivals in the Midwest.