The third annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in 2013 will have a new location and new dates. Next year it will take place June 13-15 at Cooper’s Lake Campground in Worth Township. In 2011 and 2012, the event was in August at the Big Butler Fairgrounds. Patti Jo Lambert, festival director, said Friday that one of the main reason’s for moving the location was because the campground has more room for trail riding. “The trails are a huge component of what jeepers love to do with their Jeeps,” Lambert said. Jack Cohen, executive director of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, said another reason for the move was so that the event has more capability for growth. The bureau oversees the festival committee. He said that Cooper’s Lake is larger and has fewer buildings than the fairgrounds, which makes it more convenient for the festival. Also, being a full service campground makes it more convenient for people travelling to the festival. “We’re hoping it grows even more,” Cohen said. As for moving the date, another large event necessitated that change. The Pyrotechnics Guild International’s international convention, another event that the bureau is sponsoring, is set for Aug. 10-17, 2013, which would have been just days after the usual time of the Jeep festival. Lambert said that the closeness of those two activities would make hotel rooms too scarce and stretch the bureau’s staff too thin. The date of the fireworks convention could not be changed, which lead to the Jeep festival to change.
