2021 HUCKLEBERRY FESTIVAL

The 2021 Huckleberry Festival in Trout Creek was a huge success, according to organizers. Elizabeth Haagenson, chairperson of the festival, said, "I think it went great with everything we were up against." She referenced the smoke and coming back after a year of pandemic, among other things. "It was all a lot of fun," Haagenson added.

The event saw several new performances, including one by a belly dancing group out of Sandpoint, Idaho. The dance, performed by Roxy "Sapphire" Harper, was a unique departure from the normal dance and musical expressions featured at the festival. Harper's partner, Paula "Ravisha" Farmer, acted as an announcer and explained to the crowd what the dance was about. According to Farmer, belly dancing is a "celebration of feminine movement and community." Both ladies were supposed to dance, however, Farmer injured her knee and was unable to.

A pottery demonstration was held by Dr. David Clark of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Clark has been creating pottery since he was 14 and started doing it professionally in 2015. He and his wife sell their pottery at events like this one and hold demonstrations at the Bonners Ferry Farmers Market between May and October. When asked about why he does these presentations, he said, "It is always nice to see a little bit of how it is done." He also explained that the demonstrations show those purchasing one of his pieces how each item "represents three hours of my wife and I's life."

The Saturday dog training demonstration, hosted by the Sanders County Dog Training Club, was a crowd hit. Carole Jensen and her dog Bailey ran through the agility course. "It all depends on how much time you put in and how they take it," Jensen said of how long it takes to train a dog to perform like Bailey. She explained that Bailey has been training for over seven years but participated in her first competition within a few months. They had several dozen people show up to watch and the presentation went a little different than how it was scheduled. Instead of holding only the agility demonstration, the group also exhibited nose work. This is where the dog is trained to find items with a particular odor and to signal where they found it.

Another highlight of the festival was the pie eating contest, which was broken up into three groups. The first, ages 18 years and older, was won by Dave Brabo of Trout Creek. Brabo said he started getting sick near the end, and the crowd expressed that his face definitely showed it. His daughter competed in the last group which included ages 12 and under. Avery Brabo, though she lost to Kinnsley Josephson from Plains, said she tried her best. Avery was a strong contender at the start, but quickly slowed down as the pie became overwhelming. Once the group was done, Avery's father laughed, having taken pictures of the contest. "That was the grossest thing I have ever seen," he said. The middle group to participate included ages 12 to 17, and was won by Ben White of Victor, Montana.

The Huckleberry Run for Fun saw fewer people than normal, with 120 participants. "A lot of people aired on the side of caution," said Sarah Naegeli with the Clark Fork Valley Running Club. She referred to both the pandemic, as well as the smoky weather. Considering all the challenges, Naegeli believed it was still a great turnout. Thompson Falls Class of 2021 graduate Justin Morgan won the 5k race with a time of 16 minutes, 41.48 second. Kari Eberline of Kalispell was the top female runner, crossing the finish line in 20 minutes, 6.36 seconds. See full race results on page 10.

More than a dozen dessert chefs entered the annual huckleberry dessert contest. Organizer Laura Ganatos said it was the most entries she had seen for the contest. First place in the senior division, which included those 13 and older, was Carol Day's streusel muffins. Second place went to TJ Tullett's huckleberry oatmeal crumble. The junior division included bakers ages 12 and under, with Michaela Everett's huckleberry macaroons winning the competition. In second was Shiloh and Paisley Hunstman's huckleberry bars. Tullett also won the jams and jellies contest with her jalapeno huckleberry jam, while Lydia Swartzentruber's huckleberry jam took second place. Judges for the dessert and jam and jelly contests included Rod Parker of Hamilton and Andy and Kristy Sewrey of Issaquah, Washington. The judges said they were looking for interesting uses of huckleberries and of course, that distinct huckleberry flavor. Andy joked that the job of tasting all those desserts and jams was extremely difficult. "I think I need more practice."

Four young ladies showed off their skills in the huckleberry talent show. Solveig Nygaard of Thompson Falls, Arya Krick and Kassidy Dana of Trout Creek and Lola Schock of St. Ignatius performed for the crowd Saturday evening. Nygaard wrote a song, "A Million Pieces," which she sang and also played the ukulele as accompaniment. Nygaard said she wrote her first song, "Adventure," when she was in first grade. Dana, a seventh grader, said she competed in the Miss Huckleberry pageant in first and second grade. She performed a dance by herself and another with Krick, and Schock sang a song, accompanied by her brother Dillon on the piano. Ray Brown of Thompson Falls served as emcee for the event, helping the performers feel more comfortable on stage.