The full schedule of events for this year’s NIBROC Festival has been released, and as usual, it features a great lineup of live musical acts, as well as athletic competitions, the return of the carnival on Depot Street, and much more.
The 2025 NIBROC Festival will take place next Wednesday-through-Saturday, Aug. 6-9, on Depot and Main Streets in downtown Corbin. The festivities will get underway Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. with $20 armband night at the carnival. With an armband, attendees can ride all of the rides they want until the close of the carnival. Armbands will increase in price to $25 beginning Thursday.
On Thursday, the Corbin Senior Citizen Center will be hosting a special Bingo event at NIBROC Park starting at 11 a.m. Prizes to be awarded include those donated by local businesses such as Dusty Diamond Boutique, the Pinball Museum of Corbin, Folktale Coffee and Bakehouse, The Mint Gaming Hall, Pepsi of Corbin, Georgia Blossom Books, Corbin Flower Shop and more. For more details, find the Corbin Senior Citizen Center on Facebook.
Also Thursday, pickleball competitions will get underway at the Corbin Recreation Center, located at 409 Barbourville Street (next to Campbell Field), and play will begin in the Annual NIBROC Volleyball Tournament, sponsored by Pepsi. The Annual NIBROC Parade will also make its way down Kentucky Ave. beginning at 7 p.m.
On the music stage Thursday, Chad Rogers will perform at 7:30 p.m. Those who are familiar with the local music scene will likely be familiar with Rogers, whose sound will appeal to rock and country fans alike. He was recently included in the musical lineup featured at this year’s Whitley County Fair, and performs regularly throughout the local area.
Following Rogers will be Chris Janson, a Missouri native residing in Nashville who has enjoyed great success on the national level in recent years with hit singles such as “Buy Me A Boat,” “Fix A Drink,” “Drunk Girl,” and “Good Vibes,” all of which reach certified platinum status. For more information on his music, visit his official website at www.chrisjanson.com.
Pickleball and volleyball tournament action will continue Friday, and the Annual NIBROC Fastest Kid in Town and 2-Mile Run races will be held on Laurel Ave. (in front of First Baptist Church) at 7 and 8 p.m., respectively. There is a registration fee of $25 for the 2-Mile Run. Fastest Kid in Town will take place prior to the start of the 2-Mile Run, from 7:00 to 7:45 p.m., and is open to participants aged 3-18 for a fee of $10.
Musical offerings Friday evening will include Dad’s Mad (formerly Mom’s Mad), a young, up-and-coming band based in Lexington that will be performing at 7:30 p.m. County Wide Band will then make their return to the festival to treat fans to their blend of southern rock and country styles beginning at 9:30 p.m.
The 73rd Annual NIBROC Festival will wrap up on Saturday with the conclusion of the pickleball and volleyball competitions, and an amateur cornhole tournament will take place at Tomahawks in downtown beginning at noon. The Elks Lodge will also be hosting a darts tournament beginning at 4 p.m.
Capping off this year’s musical lineup, The Sidewinders will take the stage Saturday at 7:30 p.m., followed by country music superstar Sammy Kershaw at 9:30 p.m. Some of Kershaw’s most notable hits include “Cadillac Style, “I Can’t Reach Her Anymore,” “National Working Woman’s Holiday,” “Third Rate Romance,” “Love of My Life,” and most famously, the chart-topping, “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful.”
Also planned for this year’s NIBROC Festival…
• Tomahawks will host its annual singer-songwriter contest, with preliminary rounds taking place on Thursday and Friday, and the top 12 contestants performing on Saturday. Three judges with musical backgrounds will evaluate the performances. The entry fee for the contest is $20, with a grand prize of $2,000. To sign up, visit www.tomahawksaxeclub.com.
• The Little Miss and Master Nibroc Pageant is set for Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. in the Corbin High School auditorium. The entry fee is $50, which includes automatic entry into several categories: Most Photogenic, Best Dressed, and Best Personality. Each category will have a winner, a runner-up, and a second runner-up.
