The 2011 Brownwood Reunion Celebration kicked into high gear Saturday with loads of attractions, competitions, food, and music.  Although thundershowers threatened the area in the afternoon and evening, all of the fun continued and was capped off on the main stage by Easton Corbin.

Saturday’s events started with the annual 5K/10K run where more than 500 participants took to the downtown streets to prove who was the fastest.  That event overlapped with the Feels Like Home Grand Parade which was followed closely by the Honor a Hero Parade.

The Brownwood Reunion Celebration once again highlighted heroes who serve in the “Honor a Hero Parade” Saturday, September 17th during the city-wide festival.

Children and parents entered the free parade and were asked to dress in red, white and blue to honor both past and present members of the military and heroes such as friends, firemen, policemen, EMTs, mentors, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and others.

One of the newer events added to the Brownwood Reunion Celebration is the Cake-off competition.  In its second year, the Cake-off competition allows bakers to show off their skills in making appealing and delicious cakes.

In the competition, participating teams provide their own unfrosted, undecorated cakes and must decorate a themed cake in 4 hours, under the watchful eyes of judges and an audience.  Pre-made decorations were allowed, and the winning teams received cash prizes.

The Classic Car Show featured in the Brownwood Coliseum during the Brownwood Reunion Celebration gets bigger and better each year, and 2011 is no exception.

Close to 50 cars, all from the 1960’s, are featured in this year’s event.  Local car club the Heartland Cruisers organizes the show each year during the Reunion, and they make a big effort to bring variety of unique cars to the show each year.  Those who attend the show will be able to vote for their favorite entry which will be recognized Sunday, September 18 during an awards presentation.

The 11^th Annual Brownwood Reunion Celebration was in full swing on Saturday and was highlighted mid-morning with the Feels Like Home Grand Parade.  The parade traveled through Downtown Brownwood and crossed through the festival grounds for everyone to enjoy.

The annual Locomotion 10K/5K Run and 1.5 Mile Walk kicked-off events for the second day of the Brownwood Reunion Celebration on Saturday.   Runners for the 10K kicked-off the race and started around 7:50am Saturday morning followed soon after by the 5K runners and then the walkers.

Organizers said that more than 500 entries were taken for the races, a new record for the Reunion event.

The first day of the Brownwood Reunion Celebration  had some tense moments for volunteers and organizers as a series of rain showers fell across Brownwood mid-afternoon, causing some havoc during setup time.

Coordinators scrambled to play catch-up to open the festival at 5pm on Friday and were able to pull it off as the rains died down by kick-off time for the event.

The highlight for day one was the Friday night concert on the main celebration stage that featured classic rocker Eddie Money to thousands of spectators.  Friday also saw the opening of the Classic Car Show, petting zoo and Kids Zone, the BBQ cook-off,  the Pride of Texas Midway, the opening reception of the photography contest, other live music, vendor booths, lots of food, and tons of fun.