The Crooksville Roseville Pottery Festival is off to a smashing start

1 hour ago

J.W. Dennison,

Judge Luann Cooperrider holding the design found on the Clay Center of Ohio's commemorative plate made in her honor. Cooperrider is Perry County's first female judge.

CROOKSVILLE, Ohio – The 61st annual Crooksville Roseville Pottery Festival started Thursday in Crooksville Village Park.

The opening ceremony began with the presentation of colors and the national anthem. That was followed by an introduction to last year’s Queen’s Court, followed by this year’s contestants for the festival’s queen pageant. The fan-favorite portion of the opening ceremony was the Clay Center of Ohio Commemorative Plate Breaking and plate auction. This year’s plate highlighted the career of a Perry County native, Judge Luann Cooperrider.

“I am the first female judge here, love my job and this is sadly my last year because of the law in Ohio. But it’s been the greatest job I’ve ever had. It’s more of a calling than a job, and just an hour to be able to help kids and families,” Cooperrider said. “But they put my picture on the plate this year and it’s a real honor. So I’m going to proudly display this in the courthouse and then at my home.”

The event features a variety of local vendors, food trucks, and rides. There is also an extensive list of events for every day, like Friday’s pie contest, a fire extraction demonstration by the Crooksville Fire Department, and live music.

“[My] favorite part about this festival is just the heritage about pottery. This is some of the best clay in the world and it’s still being used today to make plates,” said Cooperrider. “The plate for this ceremony was actually made with local clay, the Burly Clay Company. And it’s just the heritage and continuing it going on so that people can learn about the place that they live.”

You can learn more about the schedule by checking out the Crooksville Roseville Pottery Festival’s Facebook page. The festival grounds open tomorrow at 10 a.m.