Jeeps on Friday ready to invade downtown Butler
SLIPPERY ROCK — This year’s Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival opened its gates at 9 a.m. on Friday at Cooper's Lake Event Venue and Campground, kicking off a weekend of activities for Jeep owners who often travel to Butler County for the beloved event.
As the festival got underway on Friday, trails on-site were packed with automobile action, as was the Jeep playground.
“It’s amazing so far,” said Mary Danielson, festival activities coordinator. “We’re seeing a lot of traffic come through.”
Danielson said the playground was partly rebuilt for this year, which Jeepers have expressed excitement for.
About 2,300 jeeps have been registered to make an appearance at the event from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon, said Danielson.
On Friday, particularly, Danielson said, the energy can be further found on Main Street in Butler for the downtown ‘Jeep Invasion’ at 6 p.m.
Despite overcast conditions, the event will not be impacted by weather as long as there is no heavy rainfall, Danielson said. She added that heavy rain will not shut down the event, but access to some trails may be modified to ensure participant safety.
Tomorrow should be an improvement, weather-wise, Danielson said.
“We’ll keep looking forward to a sunny tomorrow because that’s what the weather looks like,” she said.
Details on the invasion
Downtown Butler traffic changes have been announced for Friday’s Jeep Invasion, which will kick off the 15th annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival.
Public parking for all vehicles, including Jeeps, on Main, Cunningham and Jefferson streets is prohibited after 3 p.m. Friday.
Those streets will close to all traffic at 3:30 p.m. Jeeps for the Invasion will begin parking between 4 and 5 p.m. The Invasion will run until 10 p.m., and streets will reopen after the Jeeps leave.
Main Street traffic will be diverted to Washington and McKean streets. This year, 1,000 Jeeps will invade downtown Butler. DJs will be playing music and food vendors will have treats.
