CASCO — If it’s the last weekend in July, it’s Casco Days.

A tradition that dates back to the 1930s is in full swing this weekend in Casco, with the 83rd edition of Casco Days already underway.

The long list of scheduled events began Thursday and will continue through Sunday, July 29 at Casco Day Park in Casco Village. 

The lineup includes games and rides, a chicken barbecue, children’s parade, pancake breakfast, road race, grand parade, live music performances from Lauren Montana and Rick Charette & the Bubble Gum Band, and prize drawings.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Casco Fire Association.

Casco Days’ Melissa Kluge says that she helps with the “behind the scenes stuff” that makes the event possible.

According to Kluge, Casco Days is driven by volunteers who dedicate “hours and hours” to the event’s success.

“Once you’re in, you’re in,” Kluge said of the volunteers who come back year after year.

Casco Town Manager Dave Morton, who manages the beano tent with his daughter Jennifer, echoed the importance of the volunteers and said that Casco Days is “an amazing event” that “brings families together.”

Morton also called it “an opportunity to see folks that you haven’t seen in years.”

Casco Days features a wide range of sponsors, without whom the event “would not be possible,” according to the Casco Days website.

Despite all of the planning, the weather can sometimes complicate the events. Kluge said that any weather updates are put on the website, which also has more information about the schedule.

“We always try to plan ahead,” Kluge said. “But we can’t control the weather, unfortunately.”

Though the event is steeped in tradition – Kluge says it usually adheres to a similar schedule from year to year according – this Casco Days will feature a noticeable and unfortunate difference.

Two weeks ago, the town lost the “Voice of Casco Days” when Thomas Hancock died unexpectedly on July 13 at Saint Joseph’s College, where he was a professor. The community celebrated Hancok’s life during a ceremony at the Casco Village Church last weekend, which organizers expected to draw an overflow crowd.

Kluge said that while no one can or will try to fill Hancock’s shoes, there will be an opportunity for different people to audition for his past role this weekend.

Morton said that Hancock’s death “adds a real issue of sadness” to the event, but stressed that Hancock would have wanted Casco Days to continue as the celebration that it has been in the past.

“He would want it to continue to be a successful and special event,” Morton said about Hancock.

“Casco Days is a marathon in itself,” Kluge said. “It will all come together in the end.”

Matt Junker can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @MattJunker.

The annual Casco Days celebration is underway this weekend.