An Ohio Valley favorite is making its comeback today after being canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The Martins Ferry Volunteer Fire Department Betty Zane Days festival gets underway at 5 p.m. today and continues through Saturday. Held at City Park, the fun-filled event is offered in a setting that is both pleasant and relatively safe — since the pandemic is still with us, it is best for larger crowds to gather only in outdoor spaces.

Although the delta variant is causing more COVID-19 cases to crop up again, there are no national, state or local restrictions on such events, and we have learned a lot about how to keep ourselves and others safe.

So, as a primary sponsor of the event, The Times Leader urges people who feel safe doing so to get out and enjoy the festivities.

The Purple City tradition is named in honor of Elizabeth “Betty” Zane, the Revolutionary War-era heroine of Fort Henry. She made a bold dash for gunpowder when the fort, at the site of present-day Wheeling, was under siege.

While paying homage to the brave woman who later lived in and was buried in Martins Ferry, the festival also offers modern attractions including nightly entertainment, plenty of food vendors, carnival rides and much more. One big event is the Firefighter Water Battle, sponsored by Unified Bank, that gets underway immediately after a parade of fire engines around the city that begins at noon Saturday. The battle happens on South Fourth Street, near our offices, the bank and the VFD’s Ladder Company building. And according to Fire Chief Tom Kelly, the main objective is for everyone to have fun.

So, come on down to Martins Ferry and see what the festival is all about.