BEVERLY — The annual Beverly Fireman’s Festival will shift into high gear this weekend and carry on through July 26, with many events and activities scheduled for this year’s celebration.

Things kick off on Saturday with the start of Beverly Heritage Days at the Beverly Heritage Center at 10 a.m. A Muzzleloader Shoot will be offered at the Izaak Walton League at 10:30 a.m., and the day will be capped off with the Little Miss Beverly Pageant at the Beverly School beginning at 6 p.m.

“We’ve been doing this Festival for many years now and everyone seems to enjoy it,” Beverly Fire Department President Robert Phillips told The Inter-Mountain. “We have a lot of activities scheduled this year and we expect everything to be packed throughout the week.”

There will be a special bingo game with a $1,000 jackpot at the Beverly Volunteer Fire Department on Monday at 5 p.m. The Festival’s annual Cakewalk will be Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the BVFD.

Things pick up on Thursday, July 24, highlighted by the annual OX Roast at 4-H Camp Pioneer from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Michael Bonnett and Rivers Edge will begin performing at the Fire Department at 6 p.m., and the annual Pet Show will get started at 6:30 p.m. An Ice Cream Social is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday night is also Community Appreciation Night and will feature free hot dogs, chips and water for those attending.

“We always have a good turnout for the Cakewalk and Pet Show,” Phillips said. “We have something going every night except for Tuesday. A couple things didn’t come through for us on that night so we just went ahead and took the night off.”

The Zona Hester Band will perform live at the BVFD at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 25, and kids inflatables open for the first time at 6 p.m. There will also be free Ax Throwing in the BVFD at 6 p.m., and Josh Folmsbee and the Crooked Roots Band take the stage at 8 p.m. The night will be capped off by a Fireworks Display at approximately 10 p.m.

“We definitely have a lot of stuff going on Friday night with the two bands and then the fireworks display,” Phillips said. “It should be a really fun night.”

A host of activities are slated throughout the day on Saturday, July 26, beginning with the Car Show and 5K Run & Walk registration at 8 a.m. The festival’s annual Craft Show will get underway at 9 a.m., followed by the start of the Lumberjack Competition at 10 a.m.

There will be a chicken barbecue at 11 a.m., and the annual Beverly Fireman’s Festival Parade will begin at noon.

“We’ve been working on putting the Festival together since January,” Phillips said. “It should be a pretty good week. Hopefully, everything works out right and the weather is good so everybody can come out and have a good time.”

For more information on the Beverly Fireman’s Festival, visit the Beverly Volunteer Fire Department Company 42 Facebook Page or visit beverlyvfd42.com.