One of Marshalltown’s next-door neighbors is preparing for a full day of family fun and activities.

Formerly known as Albion Pride Days, the newly-named Albion Rail-Trail Festival is making its proper debut this weekend. Activities begin Friday night at 5 p.m. and will last through Saturday.

The first event to be under the new name was originally planned in 2020, but only the fireworks happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic putting an end to most large gatherings.

Event organizer Jannell Walker suggested changing the festival’s name after the demolition of the old Albion School. In the 1960s, Albion had Old-Timers Day, which then became The Albion Pride Days when the city needed to raise funds for the renovation of the school building. After the building was demolished in 2018, Walker thought it was a good time to make a change and look toward the future for Albion.

“With the new bike path coming through we just thought that it would be good,” Walker said. “The railroad tracks that come through town are from the past and the bike path is new. Something old and something new just kind of paying homage to Albion.”

Activities on Saturday include a Donut Dash 5k run, an outdoor market featuring local vendors, a Rail-Trail parade, a street dance featuring local band Grand Marshall, a bags tournament and fireworks at dusk.

Walker said a lot of the planned activities, such as the kids fun zone and giant piñata, are geared toward kids, but hopes to expand activities for adults at future festivals.

“I really enjoy doing the kids’ things,” Walker said. “I lived in Albion in the 1970s, and a lot of what I remember from when they had the Old-Timers Day, the kids had so much fun.”

A new bike path to be constructed through Albion, the Iowa River’s Edge Trail, is anticipated to be a benefit to the community and festival.

Walker said organizers plan on having the festival annually, and are looking for ways to improve upon the event with new attractions each year. So far the rebranding from the festival has been well-received and the event is creating some buzz in town, she said.

“I really feel like each year it’s just going to keep growing, especially once we get the bike path all connected,” Walker said. “I feel like we have opportunities to bring a lot of avid bikers to town and have even more activities that are possibly trail related. It’s a start, we just needed to get it started.”

Visit timesrepublican.com for full list of events.

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Contact Trevor Babcock at 641-753-6611 or tbabcock@timesrepublican.com.