Smithereens among headliners at Taps, Tastes and Tunes fest
Free, 3-day event at VOA Museum will start Thursday.
Kemba Credit Union’s Taps, Tastes and Tunes will be held at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting over the Fourth of July weekend. The three-day festival will bring together a variety of food, beverages and live music that will feature a fireworks celebration on Friday night.
“Being back in West Chester is always fun. We have great support from the community and the township, so we are always excited to be in West Chester,” said David Wertheim, event manager at ColdIron Enterprises Inc.
Taps, Tastes and Tunes will begin Thursday and run through Saturday at VOA. The festival is produced by ColdIron Enterprises Inc. in partnership with the West Chester-Liberty Chamber Alliance, West Chester Twp., the VOA Museum and MetroParks of Butler County.
Admission and parking will be free. No tickets are required. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Festival hours will be from noon to 11 p.m. daily.
The event will feature live entertainment all weekend.
On Thursday, Ninety Four.04 will perform at 2:30 p.m., followed by the Kenny Welch Band at 5 p.m. At 9 p.m., in partnership with the Voices of America Country Music Fest, country artist John Morgan will be the headliner.
On Friday, live music will kick off with Pandora Effect at noon, followed by Everyday People Band at 4:15 p.m. Lit will headline the evening performance at 8 p.m. There will be fireworks at 10 p.m. presented by West Chester Twp.
On Saturday, music will start at noon with Shuffle. Joey Said No will perform at 2:30 p.m., followed by headliners Nine Days at 7 p.m. and The Smithereens with guest vocalist John Cowsill at 9:30 p.m.
There will be a variety of food vendors on site with tasty offerings, such as Mae’s Country Cooking, El Rey Mexican Food Truck, American Grill, Lil Taste of Soul, USA Café, Wagwan Jerki and Crumbl Cookies.
Beverages will include Miller Lite, Coors Light, various craft beers, margaritas, Ole Smoky slushies and Vizzy Hard Seltzers, as well as nonalcoholic soft drinks, bottled water, lemonade, iced tea and fruit smoothies.
“We’ve got it all here, a perfect Fourth of July celebration with national acts, fireworks, food and drink, and it’s just a great event for the whole family,” Wertheim said.
From World War II through the Cold War, the Voice of America Bethany Relay Station in West Chester Twp. played a vital role in transmitting Voice of America broadcasts to people living in countries that lacked a free press. The station operated from 1944 to 1994 and was decommissioned by the federal government in 1994. The iconic art deco building has been developed into the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting with support from the community.
The VOA Museum is typically open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. During the Taps, Tastes and Tunes event, the museum will be open those same hours on Saturday.
Admission to visit the museum is $10 for adults ages 16 and over. Admission is free for children under 16, and $9 for veterans and active military service members.
The VOA Museum is at 8070 Tylersville Road. Visit voamuseum.org, or call 513777-0027 for more information.
For more information on Taps, Tastes and Tunes, visit cincyfests.com.