The 2016 North Webster Mermaid Festival’s theme will be “Indiana Bicentennial, Celebrating Indiana.” Little tie-ins to the bicentennial will appear through the festival’s run, June 22-25.

The most notable use of the theme will be during the cutie parade, which occurs at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 22. Participants will be embracing the theme while crafting their motorized floats, walking units or hand-pulled units, as they each celebrate Indiana’s history.

Some of the floats and displays in the main parade Saturday, June 25, will also take the theme to heart and interweave the bicentennial into their designs; however, it will not be as theme heavy as the Cutie Parade, though participants are encouraged to join the fun.

And of course this year’s Mermaid Festival booklet will also be bicentennial themed. The booklet contains a full schedule of events, information about activities, full biographies on the Citizen of the Year and the parade’s grand marshal, a history of the festival and more. It can be found and picked up all over the North Webster area.

For further information about the festival, visit mermaid-festival.com.