WILMINGTON — After years without a festival and in-person races due to the pandemic, the Wilmington Whiteface Whiskey Run Festival will return to its usual in-person format on Saturday, June 18.

The 5K and 10K races are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Whiskey Run Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Preston Festival Field located at 2 Cunningham Lane (just off Springfield Road) in Wilmington.

The festival, which is free, features Celtic music by the Men O’ War Balladeers, food trucks, a craft show, traditional demonstrators, vendors, raffles, displays, craft whiskey, beer and wine tastings and a Battle of Plattsburgh reenaction, musket and cannon fire.

There will be a ceremony at 12:30 p.m. in honor of the Jay/Wilmington soldiers of the War of 1812 who fought in the Battle of Plattsburgh. Both the race events and the festival are a benefit for the Wilmington Historical Society to raise funds for a new building.

Many of the activities of the Whiskey Run Festival focus on the area’s historically recurrent theme of whiskey. In its early days, the part of Jay that is now Wilmington had the reputation of providing good rye whiskey to the American troops as part of their daily rations during the Battle of Plattsburgh in the War of 1812.

About 100 years later, Wilmington became a safe haven for rum runners transporting illicit spirits across the border during the Prohibition Era. More recently, Wilmington was home to a whiskey barrel cooperage, U.S. Barrel.

“We are glad to be back with this popular event combining local history with active sensory experiences, a race and just plain fun. It is a great Adirondack community festival with something for everyone,” said Karen Peters, president of the Wilmington Historical Society.

For more information, visit www.wilmingtonhistoricalsociety.org. To register for a Whiskey Run 5K or 10K race, go to www.adkwhiskeyrun.com.