Thousands of people are expected in downtown Wilton on Friday and Saturday for the 32nd annual Wilton Blueberry Festival, a weekend of food, music and children’s activities and, this year, a tour of human anatomy.

The event started with a Blueberry Church Bazaar and grew into the two-day festival with 4,000 to 5,000 attendees.

Additional Images

Fire officials lead the parade at a Wilton Blueberry Festival. The annual event started with a Blueberry Church Bazaar and grew into the two-day festival with thousands of attendees. Morning Sentinel file photo

“People plan their vacation around the festival,” said Shannon Smith, chairman of the festival committee. “We’ve got a lot of high school reunions happening this weekend.”

Every year Smith said she plans a new event for the festival, and this year will feature a large inflatable heart, brain, lungs and a 50-foot human body at Kineowatha Park that visitors can walk through to see the way organs work.

“People will go through and get health education,” she said. “Health education is an important thing. It’s for all ages.”

The MEGA Body inflatables are being brought in from Houston, and will be set up Thursday morning for the Friday and Saturday festivities.

She said the theme for the 2015 Blueberry Festival is reading and writing and the acts are already booked.

Other highlights of the festival, Smith said, include a free Friday night concert, a series of races held through the weekend and Saturday night fireworks.

The 7:15 p.m. concert at Academy Hill School will feature Re-Creation/, a Pennsylvania based musical group that primarily performs for veterans organizations.

Smith said racers should pre-register for the 10-kilometer, 5-kilometer and 1-mile fun runs.

Parking will be banned on Main Street and at the Wilson Lake swimming area from noon until after the fireworks Saturday. For a full list of events, go to Wiltonbbf.com.

Kaitlin Schroeder can be contacted at 861-9252 or at:

kschroeder@centralmaine.com

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