White Mills Days 2026: Full Schedule, Duck Race & Parade

Key Takeaways

• White Mills Days runs Friday and Saturday, August 14 and 15, its 51st year
• Friday's headline events: Touch a Truck 5 to 7, Hog and Husband Calling Contest at 6:30, the fourth annual rubber duck race at 7, free concert at 8, fireworks after
• Saturday starts early with a guided bike ride at 8 AM and the parade at 9, with the 14 dollar barbecue chicken dinner at 11:30
• Jase and Missy Robertson of Duck Dynasty appear Saturday morning at First Christian, 25 dollars
• NWTF Heartland Chapter's Jake's Day is Saturday, 8 to noon, free for all youth 16 and under

Summary

The whole county is pointed at one place this weekend. White Mills Days returns for its 51st year on Friday and Saturday, August 14 and 15, and Jon O'Brien used most of his Events segment walking through a schedule that runs from Friday afternoon straight through Saturday evening.

It matters because this is the weekend White Mills has been building toward all summer. Laura Nall, who chairs the White Mills Civic League, joined the show back in E30 to start the drumbeat, and this is the payoff. Between the duck race, the parade, the fireworks and the barbecue chicken dinner, it is the closest thing Hardin County has to a whole-community weekend.

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Jon started where Rachel left off in the intro. "Like Rachel said earlier, White Mills Days this weekend, big time."

Friday builds slowly and then does not stop. Concessions and vendors open at 5 PM. Touch a Truck runs 5 to 7, which Jon flagged as worth the trip on its own. "The response vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances. I think last year they said they brought in a helicopter, which is pretty cool."

Pedal pull registration is at 6. The cakewalk, the mini train ride and the Kid Zone run through the evening, and Jon was quick to point out the adults are not an afterthought. The Hog and Husband Calling Contest at 6:30 is, in his telling, a genuine competition. "That was interesting last year as well. They had some pretty stiff competition."

At 7 comes the event that has quietly become the signature: the fourth annual rubber duck race on the Nolin River. Jon put Rachel on the spot about it directly, telling her to go buy a few ducks and try her luck. The free concert follows from 8 to 9:30, Tri-County Reunion featuring Oakley Strater, and fireworks close out the night.

Saturday starts earlier than people expect. The guided bike ride is at 8 AM, and Jon's advice was to arrive with time to spare rather than roll in at the last second. The parade steps off at 9. At 11:30 the barbecue chicken dinner opens in the air-conditioned dining room for 14 dollars, which Jon vouched for without hesitation. A car show and tractor show fill the afternoon, and swimming opens at 5 for 5 dollars, with a lifeguard on duty.

The weekend is organised by the White Mills Civic League under Laura Nall, who supplied the schedule the show worked from.

Beyond White Mills, three other things are worth your calendar. Saturday morning at First Christian, doors at 8 with the program at 8:30, Jase and Missy Robertson of Duck Dynasty come to town for a 25 dollar ticketed event. On Wednesday, Michter's runs a tasting at Cavern Club from 6 to 9 with Core Four flights, Black Manhattans, discounted pours and a merch drawing. Jon made his own preference plain, singling out the Shenk's, a French oak aged sour mash.

And Saturday from 8 to noon, the NWTF Heartland Chapter holds Jake's Day at a hunting preserve. It is free to every young person 16 and under and includes fishing, archery, clay shooting, a BB gun range and lunch.