HUMBOLDT, Kan. — Biblesta returns to Humboldt Saturday, Oct. 3, with a full day of music, activities and a Bible-themed parade around the downtown square.
The celebration begins with the Run For the Son 5K at 8 a.m. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m., with runners gathering on the northwest side of the square.
Harmony Hill will perform from 10 to 11:20 a.m., followed by Phil and Pam Morgan from 11:40 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The Biblesta parade begins at 1:30 p.m. on Bridge Street and travels around the square.
Sanctus Real will perform at 2:15 p.m., followed by Monday Night Madness at 4:15 p.m. A free bean feed begins at 5 p.m., with diners asked to bring their own table service and containers.
Sean Rodriguez takes the stage at 5:30 p.m. The celebration concludes with Biblesta After Dark, beginning at 7 p.m. on the square.
Biblesta’s roots date to 1958, when the late Dr. Arthur Carlson, then Sunday School superintendent at Humboldt’s First Baptist Church, proposed a parade depicting Bible stories. His idea followed an incident in which a man delivering an impromptu downtown sermon through a loudspeaker was chased out of town.
“Why not a parade?” Carlson asked. “Nobody would chase a parade out of town.”
The first parade took place on the first Saturday of October 1958, with estimates placing attendance at as many as 10,000 people. Vern Howver later coined the name “Biblesta,” beginning a tradition that continues 68 years later.
