Parke County has you covered: Festival features 31 covered bridges

ROCKVILLE, Ind. — Indiana’s largest festival, the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, will be held Oct. 11-20 this year. The festival is celebrated daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s free to attend and doesn’t require tickets.

The county will celebrate its 31 historic covered bridges amid a gorgeous background of fall foliage, making for beautiful photo opportunities. The bridges range from 43 to 315 feet in length.

Visitors can shop for arts, crafts, antiques and other goods in several cities. From pumpkin doughnuts to chicken noodle soup, it’s a perfect time to indulge in comfort food.

The festival is spread out over nine communities in the area:

• Rockville — The covered bridge festival headquarters. Check out a variety of crafts, food and other goods for sale. Keep an eye out for wood carving demonstrations while you’re there.

• Billie Creek Village — Home to three covered bridges, historic buildings, a schoolhouse and general store and more. Shop for handmade crafts and enjoy food.

• Bloomingdale — Known for its delicious food including chicken and noodle dinners, ham and beans, barbecue and more. The locally made apple butter is a must-try.

• Bridgeton — Home of the Bridgeton Mill and covered bridge, in addition to Collum’s General Store, the 1878 House, Case Log Cabin, Bridgeton School and other historic buildings. Learn about the city’s history while shopping for crafts and trying new food.

• Mansfield — Spend the day exploring shops from hundreds of vendors and check out the Historical Mansfield Roller Mill.

• Mecca — Known for Mecca Schoolhouse, Mecca Covered Bridge and Mecca Tavern, a great spot to enjoy a breaded tenderloin. Plenty of handmade crafts and homemade food to be found.

• Montezuma — Famous for its hog roast, crullers and iron pot ham and beans. Keep an eye out for antiques, crafts and free demonstrations.

• Rosedale — The Rosedale Civic Center is the hub of this community, where you can shop for quilts and other crafts. Vendors sell ice cream, homemade bread and cookies, chicken noodles and more.

• Tangier — Known for its buried beef and homemade pies. Visit five nearby covered bridges while you’re there.

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/CoveredBridgeFestival.