Jul 26, 2017 2 min read

WAYENSBURG – Waynesburg’s favorite day of the year will get off to a “crawling” start the night before, with Rain Day’s first diaper derby.

Greene County babies will compete in a 40-foot crawling race at 6 p.m. Friday for a chance to win a golden binky.

Athena Bowman, one of the Rain Day organizers, said the Rain Day committee decided to begin Saturday’s celebration the evening before from 5 to 8.

“It’s taking advantage of Rain Day being on the weekend,” she said.

Along with the diaper derby, Friday’s activities will include food vendors, live music, life-sized games and a performance from the Wonders Unicycle Club.

Boy Scout Troop 1280 also will camp out in tents on the Greene County Courthouse lawn as the official rain watchers this year.

Bowman said it has rained 114 times out of the 143 Rain Day celebrations. This year, they’d like to make it 115 in 144 years.

Waynesburg Mayor Duncan Berryman is, like always, predicting rain for Saturday. He made his hat bet with West Virginia University men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins. If it rains on Rain Day, July 29, Huggins will owe Berryman a WVU hat; but if it stays dry, Huggins will get a Rain Day ball cap.

“I wanted to do coach Huggins for several years and just had some trouble getting in touch with him,” Berryman said. “He’s known nationwide for his coaching credentials. I also thought it’d be nice to get more people from West Virginia, and I’ve always admired him.”

Berryman said he’s not yet sure if Huggins will be able to attend any of the events on Rain Day.

Also new this year is a second entertainment area on the lawn next to First National Bank on High Street, which will feature children’s programs from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by live musical performances.

Rain Day’s grand finale will be a fireworks display, which will be set off near the cemetery at the top of the hill on Route 19 in north Waynesburg. Bowman said the public parking lot on High and Morris streets will be blocked off for people to set up lawn chairs to view the fireworks.

“They’ve had fireworks before, but it’s been many years since,” Bowman said.