ROBERTA NEE ADAMSStaff Writer

Neither the heat and humidity nor the threatening skies put a damper on this year’s Frontier Days. The crowds were out, and found plenty to see, do (or watch), and eat. The square had a good crowd of vendors from all over the area. There were plenty of food trucks by the park, with a wide variety of offerings.

Craft and food vendors set up Friday evening. There were pony rides, a petting zoo, armband rides, and the kids’ tractor pull. The dunking booth was in full swing. Classic cars lined up on the square looking their best. The Chicken Bingo took longer than expected due to an obstinate chicken, but after an hour and a half there was finally a winner. Later there was music by the Dixie Mafia.

On Saturday the celebration continued with added events. The Family Community Education group held a Cultural Arts exhibit in the IBIS Building. The exhibit included flowers, handmade arts of sewing, crochet, knitting, painting, photography, and canning. It was a judged show, with a multitude of ribbons given out.

Miss Mary Bobo’s sponsored and apple pie contest. There were six entries this year. The two judges had the enviable task of tasting each entry and scoring it on presentation, taste, texture, crust, and several other attributes. Tanya Vann took first place with her pie.

At the gazebo there was the Chamber of Commerce’s live auction, where the bids flew fast and furious. After the auction was the Moon Pie Eating contest. Contestants were each given a box of twelve mini Moon Pies and a bottle of water. When Ryan French shouted “GO!” contestants had three minutes to eat as many as they could. Ben Robertson took first place, haven eaten all twelve pies, and Robert Logan was a close second with ten pies.

Lodge sponsored the Ladies Skillet Toss, which drew a good crowd to watch the fun. The gentlemen watching took note of how far those ladies could throw a number eight skillet, and how accurate those throws were.

The kids’ parade was very well attended, with the children riding everything from bikes to scooters, mini four wheelers, power wheels, and some being pushed in strollers and carriages. All were well decorated for the festive parade.

Saturday’s steak cook-off was a Steak Cookers Association sanctioned event. The divisions included kids’ hamburgers, dessert, two steak divisions, and ribs. Over seventy teams participated, and the smell of the cooking steaks was mouthwatering.

The petting zoo, kids rides, pony rides, dunking booth, vendors, and food trucks were there for Saturday as well. There were a kid’s power wheels demolition derby and chicken bingo.

The musical entertainment for Saturday evening was provided by Nashville artist Shelby Lee Lowe. By then it seemed that the crowd was ready to sit a spell and listen to some good country music.

The festival closed with the fireworks show, which earned many “ooooohs” and “aaaaahs.” And so, another fantastic Frontier Days celebration is in the books.