In celebration of its 150^th anniversary, the City of Locust will have three days of festivities beginning Friday.

Many groups, including the 150^th Anniversary Celebration Committee and the Locust Historical Society, met numerous times since the beginning of the year to plan and organize the celebration.

“Our idea originally was to expand the summer concert series finale into a weekend-long celebration,” Locust Parks and Recreation Director Emily Jones said. “We wanted to highlight a variety of Locust.”

From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Right Turn Clyde will perform on the front porch of Locust City Hall. There will also be several food and craft vendors along with inflatables for kids, a cruise-in and a golf cart parade, which will start around 7:30 p.m.

The Saturday festivities will last from noon until 9:30 p.m. The Arnold Hill Band will kick things off at noon on the back porch of City Hall, while Valhalla will perform at 4 p.m. and The Tams at 9 p.m.

Carnival rides, which will be free and include swings and a ferris wheel, will open at noon behind City Hall along with food vendors. There will be a beauty pageant and beard contest at 2 p.m. and a beer garden will open at 5 p.m. The day will end with “the best fireworks in Stanly County,” according to Jones, at 9:15 p.m.

Jones said there will be no backyard parking Saturday.

Sunday’s activities include music and a picnic at Locust Park at noon, along with inflatables and yoga. There will also be vendors and several demonstrations, including Civil War reenactments. For people who want to learn more about the city’s history, Locust Museum will also be open. The celebration will conclude at 4 p.m.

The city has also constructed a slab city, a replica of a small town with an old-fashioned saloon and jail, beside the City Hall.

This is not the first time Locust has thrown a big celebration honoring its history.

Many of the events for the city’s 100^th anniversary in 1969 included a centennial parade featuring 75 covered wagons, a beauty pageant, a beard contest, live music events, community dinners and the construction of a slab city which included an old-fashioned saloon, bank and jail.

“I hope the celebration highlights our sense of community, that we are a City with a Soul,” Jones said. “I think it’s going to be really great for Locust residents, both long-time and new, to celebrate the past, present and future of the city.

For more information, visithttp://locust150.com.