Town of Nichols to celebrate 200 years with ‘Old Home Days’ celebration

The Town of Nichols is celebrating its 200th birthday this year; it was incorporated on March 23, 1824. The 2024 Nichols Bicentennial Committee was established to celebrate Nichols’ birthday, and together with the Nichols Fire Department is hosting the Nichols Old Home Day on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2.

Streets will be closed to all traffic leading to Nichols starting at 9:15 a.m., and will remain closed until completion of the parade (anticipated about one hour). Closures include Route 282 (South Main Street) East, and West River Roads.  

The parade, hosted by Nichols Fire Department, starts at 10:01 a.m. at the Fire Station, located at the corner of Bliven and West River Road. 

The parade route travels from the corner of Bliven and West River Streets headed East, right onto South Main Street, left onto Platt Street to Dean Street, left onto Cady Avenue, and then right onto East River Road, finishing at Kirby Park.

Nichols Bicentennial Brochures, in which businesses and individual ads are included, will be distributed along the parade route and will be available at the committee space under the pavilion.  

The event at Kirby Park will begin directly after the parade. At approximately 11:30 a.m., Amelia Mills, student at Tioga Central School, will sing the National Anthem.  

The Kirby Band will begin the musical entertainment, followed by Music with Andy G. Fagan.   

Dave Hildebrandt follows at 12:30 p.m.; at 1:15 p.m. Bob White will entertain and will be followed by the Dean Goble Band at 2 p.m. 

This year’s Master of Ceremonies for this event is J. Ladd Yost. 

A Cruise-In with car show will begin arriving directly after the parade, and will be in the backfield behind the park. Organizers are expecting classic and newer model cars and trucks to be among the mix of vehicles.

There will be a variety of food provided by American Beauty Food Service, Country Boys Kitchen, The Food Truck, Kool Treats Ice Cream, and Rock and Roll Kettle Corn at Kirby Park; the Nichols Fire Department is hosting their BBQ dinner at the Nichols Fire Station, and the First Presbyterian Church is having a bake sale and large yard sale.

Over 25 craft and non-profit vendors will be on-hand to include the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department with their children’s identification kits, and the Owego Police Department with one or more cool vehicles.

Sir James will provide a Magic Show at 2 p.m. and will be available before and after, creating balloon animals to hand out to the crowd. 

Inflatables (Hi- Striker and Fun Express Station) and a few other games with prizes will also be available.

A quilt raffle of a beautiful quilt, contributed by the Nichols United Methodist Quilters, will be offered by the Nichols Bicentennial Committee. Tickets are $10.00 each. The quilt contains the Nichols Bicentennial Logo and photos of Nichols’ past. The drawing will be at 3 p.m. at the Nichols Old Home Day.

The Nichols Bicentennial Committee will be selling Nichols Old Home Day Merchandise to include T-shirts, koozies, magnets and coasters, all with the Nichols Bicentennial Logo. 

Limited handicapped parking will be available within the Kirby Park parking lot, with additional handicapped parking available across the street in the larger parking area.

This event is a non-smoking (tobacco and vaping) and alcohol-free family event.

The organizers would like to thank the Town of Nichols, Tioga Downs Casino Resort, Best Buy, and all the other monetary and advertisement contributors.  

They would also like to thank Barb Quick and Andrea Seeley of the Nichols First Presbyterian Church for hosting the Nickels for Nichols can and bottle drive; the Tioga Center – Nichols Lions Club for their fundraising efforts for the sale of a locally created recipe book; and all of the local businesses that have advertised and supported the Nichols Bicentennial Committee in a huge way. The community support, according to the organizers, has been outstanding.

The Bicentennial committee would also like to thank the many volunteers who spent countless hours organizing this event to include Pam Roberts, Angie Rogers, Ladd Yost, Heidi Speigel, Michelle McLaren, and the Nichols Historian, Kem Hart-Baker.  

Volunteers are still needed. If you would like to volunteer, contact Angie Rogers by email to angie.rogers1111@gmail.com.  

Remember to bring your lawn chair, umbrellas, friends and family, and help them celebrate their 200-year birthday!