Plans Firm Up For Centennial Days

WAITSBURG - The cen- tennial celebration of Waits- burg's Days of Real Sport will not have the traditional pari-mutuel races for which the third weekend in May became so famous over the decades.

But the big weekend that organizers are now calling Waitsburg Celebration Days on May 17-19 is shaping up to be action-packed for lo- cal families and visitors. It will have everything from a Cowboy Dance on Friday to court races Saturday, and plenty of kids activities on Sunday, according to mem- bers of the committee that met on Monday night to firm up plans for the weekend.

"I'm excited about all the things coming together," said Mayor Walt Gobel, who spearheads the celebration committee. "People are coming forward to help, though we still need volun- teers."

The biggest news is a per- formance by Frog Hollow Band and dance at the fair- grounds on Saturday night. Plans are also in the works for cowgirls horse races, including an open challenge, a queen's challenge and a junior race at the fairgrounds in the afternoon. A parade down Main Street will be held concurrent with the Classic Auto Show planned at Preston Park for most of Saturday. Shopping Bag will run for most of the weekend.

"Everything is going for- ward," said Lisa Naylor, another member of the centennial committee. "Things are falling into place."

Plans for Indian relay races did not come together for this year, Naylor said. But Dayton Days, scheduled for the following weekend, is still looking into the possibility to bring the tribal competitors there, she said.

The event profile sheet prepared for the royalty races projects the hope for the speed races to become a regional event.

"Adding to the success of barrel racing, by creating these new events, a goal is to bring women rid- ers - cowgirls - back into exciting charismatic western events," according to the flyer. "Leading perhaps to a return of women riding roughstock as they did in the 1920s, when cowgirls were the national stars of rodeos."

Generous local donors have come forward to cover the $1,500 - $2,500 in insur- ance money needed to stage the races, and Chuck Reeves of Dayton has volunteered to be the event's veterinarian.

As the weekend sched- ule stands now, Waitsburg Celebration Days will kick off on Friday night with a Cowboy Dance organized by Dayton Parents of Gradu- ates 2013 at the Town Hall. In the Touchet Valley spirit, the event is a fundraiser for the Waitsburg Associated Student Body, and is open to everyone.

Doors open at 7:30 pm and attendees dressed in western clothes (boots, hats, belts and so on) will get ticket discounts at $10 for couples and $5 for singles compared to the regular price of $12 and $6. Karaoke master Deb Tiedemann of Prescott will be the DJ.

Saturday will start with a pancake breakfast at 8 am, the parade at 10 am, a mayor's royalty luncheon at the Lions Club Building and the court races at the fairgrounds in the afternoon with the winner receiving a scholar- ship as a prize, Naylor said.

A chili feed will launch nighttime activities at 6 p.m. at the fairgrounds, followed by the Frog Hollow Band around 8 pm - a show for which plenty of dance space will be set aside, Naylor predicted.

The Waitsburg Historic Society may host an open house at the Bruce Mansion on Saturday, possibly complemented by carriage rides from downtown to the fairgrounds by a team based in Walla Walla.

Recruitment for the Waitsburg Celebration Days court is already underway, led by court director Deb Scudder. She wants girls to throw their cowgirl hats in the ring by March 20, followed by riding trials at the fairgrounds on April 13 and an official court announce- ment (a queen and two prin- cesses) at the meeting of the Commercial Club scheduled for April 16.

For more information about volunteering for Cen- tennial Days, contact Mayor Gobel at 509-521-1347; signing up for court, contact Deb Scudder at 509-629- 3139; for Shopping Bag and breakfasts, contact Joy Smith at 509-539-8773; for parade entries, call Gwen Gobel at 509-337-9177; for all other questions, contact Lisa Naylor at 509-386- 6021.