ZELIENOPLE — The 53rd annual Horse Trading Days scheduled for Tursday to Saturday is expected to draw about 40,000 people to the area.

---- “Everything is full speed ahead,” festival organizer Matthew Edwards said. “We can’t wait for it to get here.”

---- Musical guests have been scheduled for all three days. These include Franklin Park native Sydney Hutchko, No Bad Juju and The Softwinds. The latter two performed last year at the festival as well.

---- Other staple features returning this year include horse-drawn wagon rides, the Round Up Horse Parade at 7 p.m. that Friday, craft vendors and children’s activities.

---- The Hot-to-Trot 5K run/walk and Horse Trading Days cornhole tournament also will return for the second year.

---- A new outdoor stage will be set up at the Spring Street parking lot and used for entertainment throughout the festival, including music performances and the beauty pageant.

---- Edwards said the stage should attract more people to that part of Main Street.

---- “It’s another advantage for the businesses,” he said. “It’s another venue for people to check out.”

---- Edwards said the festival will continue to try to attract people to the south side of Main Street as it did last year.

---- “It was a good first step,” he said of last year.

---- The festival will focus attention to that area several ways, including having more vendors and having the cornhole tournament at the Passavant House. The Passavant House also recently built a new gazebo and planted a garden using Zelie Passavant’s old notes.

---- Edwards also said more businesses on Main Street’s south side may want to participate in the festival.

---- He also said the although festival was planning to use the Connoquenessing Valley Elementary School’s parking lot again for parking, that is no longer an option.

---- The festival began as a sales promotion in conjunction with a horse show put on by the Pennsylvania Amateur Horsemen’s Association (PAHA) in the Community Park baseball field. Since then, it has grown to be a staple feature of the community.

---- More information, including a list of events, can be found at horsetradingdays.com.