MATTHEW BURNETTE, Staff Writer

When Old Timers Day rolls around this year, it will have a new host but the same small-town charm that it’s known for.

The event will join the lineup of events organized by Brianna Victory Events, a local company that hosts 20 events a year in Middle Tennessee. Brianna Hale, the company’s owner, says she’s excited to take over organizing the event.

“I know that this is one of the best events here in Manchester, so that right there was like the push,” she said. “It’s just a really good opportunity, and I’m just excited to keep it going. I’m glad that they trusted me to do it.”

Other than possibly adding some more free Kid’s Zone activities for attendees to enjoy, Hale says she plans on keeping the event as close to it has been as possible.

“I plan on keeping it the same for the most part because the community loves it the way it is, so I don’t want to risk that and change anything up,” she explained. “We want it to stay just as busy and as popular as it’s always been.”

Old Timers Day originally started as a sidewalk sale in 1963 before being given its name the following year.

The event features a parade, musical acts, pageants and vendors. Hale became familiar with the event as a vendor and met Roger Steele, who she will be taking over the reins from.

Along with the Old Timers Day Board, Steele has been the driving force behind the event for the last fourteen years. He cited health issues as the main reason for finding someone new to take over Old Timers Day.

“I think that we as a group decided that we had done everything that we set out to do,” he said. “We’re going out on top, and we found somebody that’s excited to take it over and that is highly qualified to take it over. We’re very happy for that.”

The event was incorporated as Manchester Old Timers Day Fundraiser which Steele will dissolve so Hale can take full control of the event.

“It’s still gonna stay exactly the same, hopefully the first Saturday of October on the Square,” Steele said. “The city’s happy about that. We’re happy about that, so nothing’s going to change as far as legality.”

“It’ll just be under Brianna Victory Events, but it’ll still be Manchester Old Timers Day,” added Hale. “It’s just a new host. I’ve been doing events for four years, so I’ve pretty much got it down pat now.”

Steele gave nostalgia as his main reason for bringing the event back in 2012 after a five-year absence.

“It was a place we could go and spend all day with our friends and not spend a lot of money, so we brought it back just like it was,” he explained.

In the last few years of its existence, before the event was brought back, Old Timers Day was moved to a park in August, which Steele says is the reason it waned in popularity before stopping all together in 2007.

‘Once we brought it back to the Square and put it back in October like it was, people just started flocking,” he recalled. “The first year we had it, it was 55 degrees and raining. It was cold, but we had thousands of people, and 75 vendors stayed with us all day long, so we knew it was going to be good after that.”

Steele expressed gratitude towards the community for how they’ve supported Old Timers Day in the past and hoped they will continue to do so moving forward.

“I just want to thank the community for supporting me and my group for 14 years,” he said. “We pass the torch and hope that they can continue supporting Brianna.”