By Matt Clevenger

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TROY — The annual Tour De Donut bicycle race and Donut Jam concert will return to downtown Troy on Friday, Aug. 25, and Saturday, Aug. 26, drawing riders from around the country to the public square for a weekend of bike races, entertainment and family-friendly activities.

“We currently have approximately 1,400 people registered to bicycle,” Troy Main Street Executive Director Kennedy Coomes said, “and we are projected to do 1,700-1,800.”

The event will start with the free Donut Jam concert downtown at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25, featuring local groups Shannon Clark and the Sugar and Zack Attack.

“Zack Attack was here with us last year, and they are a fan-favorite,” Coomes said. “People absolutely love them.”

Children’s activities will also be available on the square, including the WACO Plane Train, face painting by Trojan Florist, the Armstrong Air and Space Museum, the Valley Church, Plinko with Kettering Health of Troy, balloon-powered boats by Sculptures on the Square and a big-games area.

The Tour De Donut bicycle race will begin on Saturday morning. The event is a mass-start timed ride, where riders visit donut stops and eat donuts. For each donut the rider eats during the ride (and keeps down) they have five minutes deducted from their ride time.

Prizes are awarded in several classes, including a Tour De Donut championship jersey for the best adjusted donut time.

“There’s different levels to the race, so you can choose the amount of miles,” Coomes said. “It’s co-hosted by the Miami County Visitors and Convention Bureau and Can’t Stop Running out of Piqua.”

“Once the racers are done they will end in downtown Troy,” she said. “We’ll have refreshments; beer will be sold starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday and DORA goes into effect at 11 a.m.”

Children’s activities on Saturday will include the COSI stage show and a presentation by the Columbus Zoo. More information can be found online, at www.thetourdedonut.com or www.troymainstreet.org.

Additional sponsors for the Donut Jam and Tour De Donut include Kettering Health, Premier Health, the Miami County Visitors and Conventions Bureau, Troy Main Street, the Troy Foundation, Beckstrom Orthodontics, Upper Valley Hearing and Balance, and the Miami County Foundation, Coomes said.

“The Kiwanis Club of Troy provides the donuts,” she said.

The Tour De Donut event was originally started in Greenville in September of 2007, Coomes said. It was moved to Troy starting in 2017.

“You’re looking at probably 3,000-4,000 people,” Coomes said. “That does mean a lot for our businesses.”

“This isn’t something that’s only going to benefit them that day, it’s going to benefit them in the long run,” she said. “We’re thankful to have this event. It’s not only put on by us, there’s a lot of people that meet to have their hand in this to make it the success it is.”