The second annual Ginkgo festival is back and ready to take over Main Street.

“This is the only annual Ames festival based on family fun and humor,” chair of Ginkgo Festival Nancy Miller said.

Family fun will be in full swing Saturday morning with the much talked about Virtual Parade.

“This is where the parade stands still and the people walk through it,” parade organizer Emil Peterson explained.

The offbeat nature of the parade lends itself to offbeat participants. “Instead of moving floats, the city council will be making root beer floats,” Peterson said.

Also included in the virtual parade is a vacuum cleaner brigade, a synchronized wading pool demonstration and a couch potato display.

“There will be constant entertainment starting at 11 a.m. Saturday morning,” Miller said.

This year the entertainment will be located on two stages. The West stage, located next to Brenton Bank, will feature the dancing and revelry of Co’Motion Dance Theater.

“We’ve created a concert that uses dances from the past 150 years to celebrate Iowa’s sesquicentennial,” director Valerie Williams said.

Williams, who is also co-chair of the performing arts committee for the Ginkgo Festival, will be dancing in the show, along with 14 other dancers from Co’Motion and the Children’s Dance Theater.

The East Stage, located at Main and Douglas, will feature local favorite The Bone People Saturday afternoon.

Art Where U Park, a small art fair in front of the Octagon Center for the Arts, will happen Saturday afternoon. “We’ve got 12 local artists demonstrating and selling their pottery, jewelry, sculptures and wood carvings,” shop manager Alissa Hansen said.

The Family Kreature Park will be open both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

“The area is designed as a place where children can come and make crafts with their parents,” organizer Leslie Melvin said.

Saturday afternoon is geared toward the food connoisseur in each of us. The second annual Wok-Off cooking contest featuring local celebrity chefs and judges will get started at 1 p.m. The contest takes place in front of Cooks Emporium.

“We equip our contestants with electric woks and identical recipe ingredients. They create stir fry dishes with the hope of winning the celebrated Golden Wok,” organizer Nikki Peterson said.

Following the Wok-Off is the Edible Art contest presented by First Edition. “We invite people to create edible art just using food and toothpicks,” organizer Kathy Ellenberger said.

There is also a fancy food division and a freestyle competition division in the contest. The freestyle is geared toward kids, but adults will be allowed to participate.

Contestants can bring their food sculptures to First Edition Saturday morning. The contest will be judged in the afternoon and the art will remain on display throughout the festival.

Saturday night is made for track stars and music lovers alike. Midnight Madness, now an Ames institution, will have its Road Races starting at 6:30 p.m.

The music begins after the races. Local band Flying Taxi will be opening for the Tazband, well versed in classic and blues rock, respectively.

The family fun continues Sunday afternoon with cultural programs at the Ames Public Library, and ice cream social and carriage rides.

Sunday night includes the much-anticipated Virtual Fireworks. The program will be a mix of celestial fireworks and slides of other galaxies. “It will have all the glory of real fireworks without the noise and smell,” Peterson said.

The Ginkgo Festival is known for having something for everyone in the family. “You can spend all weekend at Ginkgo and never do the same thing twice,” Williams said.

All events are free and open to the public.