Final day of Blueberry Festival 2026 provides smiles and memories

PLYMOUTH, Ind. -- Monday is the final day of a Hoosier state staple, the Marshall County Blueberry Festival.

The final day includes a 5K, fun run, parade, and more.

The 60th annual Blueberry Festival is coming to an end, and while it’s bittersweet that it’s the last day, it’s been nothing but smiles and good times here in Plymouth.

The final day of the 2026 Blueberry Festival truly started with a bang.

Runners of all ages took their mark and raced down North Michigan Street in the fun run, 5K, and 15K.

Tommy Brackenbury is 90 years old and says he has two goals - inspire young people and start an early birthday celebration for his 91st birthday on Nov. 8.

"I love running, when I started running, it was on a dare, another man dared me to go with him, and I didn't even think about the health benefits at the time, I just loved it," said Brackenbury.

Monday's runs were historic.

The festival's organizer tells ABC57 this is the first time in 15 years that more than 1,000 runners signed up for the events.

For some runners, the race is a chance to continue a passion that brought them closer together in the beginning.

"We actually got to know each other with running. We've been running together since, five years or so, on the subject of running we got to know each other, and we are running together since," said Omid Miralami.

For others, it's a chance to have a day as a family, while supporting the runner in the group, especially when there happens to be a parade right after the run.

"I think it was the 5K that drew us in, I've been getting into running recently, and going on my running apps and finding local 5k's, and they had the festival and all the activities going on, it was kind of the icing on the cake," Marcus Macellari

"We actually were talking on our way here about how special it is for the kids to be able to see him train at home, but then we get to watch him race, and start, and finish, and just be his cheerleaders. It's good old fashioned family fun," said Emily Macellari.

For other runners, Monday wasn't about coming in first or setting a new personal best.

For Todd and Kristen Schindler, this race was just about the experience, and all that comes with it.

"The way they have this event, coming back down the parade route, it's fantastic, because everybody's cheering for Kristen, she gets a lot of joy, because everybody's yelling for her, because it's all about her, she's the only one with a race number today, we don't wear race numbers, this isn't about us at all," said Todd.