Cassade Pope, Hunter Hayes among headliners coming to 2016 Rockton Lion’s Club OSD festival

By Marianne Mueller

Reporter

ROCKTON – Cassadee Pope and Hunter Hayes are two of the biggest names in today’s music. Each is among a list of impressive headliners appearing at the 2016 OSD festival June 16-19.

This part of the musical line up only creates part of the excitement! Country acts Kip Moore, Easton Corbin, Dustin Lynch, Brett Young, Kane Brown, Tyler Rich, Brothers Osborne, Love and Theft and Jameson Rodgers add to a full list of headliners.

A standing room only crowd raised excited cheers as the full line up of entertainment was announced at an OSD kick-off party on Thursday evening, March 31 at fibs.

Q98.5 gave a live radio remote announcing winners of meet and greets, backstage passes, drawing for prizes or tickets, OSD swag, and raffles. Members of the Rockton Lion‘s Club sold raffle tickets and passed out OSD T-shirts.

Jamie Campbell of Jamie Campbell and the Redneck Rodeos, and the band Pablo and the Rhythmix became better acquainted with fans at the kick-off party.

In addition to these two bands local talents will be featured bringing different genres of music to the festival stage. Gina Venier, Zac Mathews Band, Jayme Squires, South 40, Olivia Dvorak, Rollin’ Whiskey, Minimal and Audio Drive promise great shows ready to rock the festival stage!

Start the OSD event out by giving the gift of life from 1 to 8 p.m. at the Greater Rockton Centre on Thursday. Those who give blood will receive a free OSD admission pass. Gates to OSD will officially open at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 16 where great fun is guaranteed in the event’s 17th year complete with a carnival, midway by Skinner’s Amusements, food booths, a parade, vendors, and a fun run to benefit the Carrie Lynn Center.

The 5K is slated for June 18. Runners start at 8 a.m. Walkers leave 10 minutes after. Following check in, and packet pickups, an opening ceremony consists of a colors presentation and singing of our National Anthem.

The course begins at the Hononegah High School south parking lot and runs eastbound on the Rockton bike path with a turnaround at the Hononegah Forest Preserve entrance, returning to the starting point of the school lot.

The course is USATF Certified. Results will be tallied by a professional electronic bib chip timing method. Age divisions run 8 and under to ages up to over 70.

Best overall male and female, and top three finishers in each age group earn an OSD 5K medal, and a meet and greet pass for the main performer that evening.

The top three finishers per division will be awarded per placement. Parking will be provided in the north portion of Hononegah High School.

Registration fees for adults are $30, and children 12 and under, $20. Late registration fees after June 1 are $40. Mail in registration may be done online at RunSignUp.com, or can be mailed in to Rockton PD, Sgt. Dean Camacho, and 110 East Main Street, Rockton, IL. 61072.

Race questions may be directed to Michelle Masters at [email protected] or call 815-200-1096. All participants get cool swag items such as the 2015 OSD Tech-shirt, OSD four day festival pass if over 12 years of age, and OSD 5K water bottle, free admission to the Rockton Volunteer Association pancake breakfast, plus other awesome goodies.

All Weekend Wristbands may be purchased at a rate of $85.The wristband special saves $45 from at the gate pricing which includes: Admission to the festival grounds all four days, the carnival, food court plus all of the concerts on both the main and festival stages. If you have an amex cash magnet, you may be able to purchase your tickets before the general public, ensuring you get enough tickets for your friends and family.

Tickets must be redeemed for wristbands which must be worn all weekend. An extra option of single night concert tickets also allows discounts for early bird pricing which ends on April 30.

A four-day General Admission Pass is good for admittance into the grounds, the carnival, festival stage, food court, and the beverage tent. These can be purchased at a cost of $6 through June 15. After that date entry fees will be $10 at the gate. Ticket prices will go up through the season, if buy single concert tickets you also need the admission pass.

Dustin Lynch with Brett Young and Tyler Rich are set to perform on June 16. Kip Moore and Cassadee Pope take the stage on June 17.

Hunter Hayes, Love and Theft and Jameson Rodgers appear on June 18. Easton Corbin will appear with Brother’s Osborne and Kane Brown on Sunday night. Shows are $20 if purchased using the early bird deal.

The Rockton VIP Lion’s Den is made exclusive to all of the top level sponsors.

A full list of concert and parade schedules and detailed ticket information about the OSD festival is available on the Rockton Lion’s Club OSD web site. All funds raised from the OSD festival go back into supporting the community, and helping various charities.

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Marianne Mueller photos

Pablo and the Rhythmix is one of the bands who will be performing on the festival stage at this year’s OSD festival.