Plains Day to have new, old fun activities

The annual Plains Day festivities are fast approaching with traditional as well as new activities planned for the June 1 event, once again being sponsored by the Free Americans with Blair Blizzard at the helm.

“This Plains Day will be full of fun and off the charts comparatively,” said Blizzard, who helped with coordination efforts last year and is looking forward to putting out a spectacular festival. “That will be my payday, seeing the smiles on peoples faces. That is what spurs me on with the coordinating of it,” said Blizzard.

New this year will be a chainsaw carving demonstration on the greenway at 1:30 p.m. by Denny Hensen of Sandpoint, Idaho, but people will once again have the chance to compete in the chainsaw and cross-cutting competition in front of the VFW starting at 2:30 p.m. The crosscut competition will be sponsored by VFW Post 3596 and the chainsaw contest will be hosted by Studs Building and Home.

Plains Day will also see the return of the popular street dance, which has not been included in the festivities for several years. It will take place in front of the VFW starting at 7 p.m., but it will move inside in the event of adverse weather, said Heather Allen, the post’s quartermaster and coordinator for the street dance.

“When I started talking to the business owners asking how the old ones used to be, I saw this little twinkle in their eyes as they remembered the Plains Days of the past and relayed to me the fun things they remembered. The street dancing was the biggest thing, it seems,” said Blizzard.

Kelly Hogg-Crosby of Hot Springs will serve as the DJ for the dance and will play a mix of music. Blizzard is asking the public to send in types of music they’d like to hear to the Plains Day Facebook page. She also noted that she’s planning to hold a dance contest there with a first place couple prize.

This year’s Plains Day theme will be “Your Vote, Your Voice, Your Future.” Blizzard said it’s a mouthful, but she felt it was especially appropriate with 2024 being a big election year. The festivities on Plains Day Saturday will once again start with the traditional Mason Pancake Breakfast at the VFW from 7-11 a.m. The Plains Woman’s Club will have a hamburger lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the VFW.

Rocky Mountain Bank will again host the annual Ice Cream Social starting at 10 a.m. and the Turtle Races behind the bank at 1 p.m. Also starting at 1 p.m. will be a Corn Hole Tournament, which is being put on by the Plains Pickleball Association behind the Printery. The Plains Alliance Church is again sponsoring a watermelon eating contest at 3 p.m. at Fred Young Park, where the Plains Bible Chapel will have a bouncy house from noon to 3 p.m. and there will be miniature horse rides by Shining Diamond Stables from Lake County from about 8:30 to around 4 p.m. There will also be checker games available to play on the greenway put on by the Free Americans.

The parade, headed again by Mary Halling, will include sign-ups from 9-11 a.m. at Plains School. Clearwater Properties is donating $500 for the first place nonprofit float. Mary Helliwell of Keller Williams Realty Northwest Montana is donating a $100 second place nonprofit prize. The parade will step off at 11 a.m. Halling said there will likely be several political floats in this year’s parade. Although there hasn’t been a large participation of pet costumed entries, Blizzard hopes to see local people with their decorated pets and there will be prizes for first and second place winners, donated by Colleen’s Country Store and Paws Here Pet Styling.

The grand marshal for the parade this year will be 93-year-old Dave Helterline of Plains, who said it was an honor to be selected. Helterline has spent most of his life in Plains and has been a member of the Plains Lions Club for over 40 years. Studs Building and Home in Plains is donating a PA system for the parade, which will again be announced by Gene Johnson, who has been the emcee for the parade and Turtle Races for the last 20 years.

Rehbein Ford will again sponsor a car show contest from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by the handing out of trophies. Todd Logan of Rehbein Ford said they’ll have awards for the Best of Show, People’s Choice and the top 10 vehicles.

People can expect to have another fun time at the annual Ryan family potluck dinner and dancing event at the E.L. Johnson Memorial Park beginning around 5 p.m. and finishing up with a drive-in show, along with its popular limbo contest, coordinated by Neuman Ryan, who added there will be cash prizes for the limbo winners. “Bring smiles, chairs, pillows, blankets, and all kinds of comforts for a drive-in movie,” said Ryan.

Blizzard has about 50 vendors so far, but expects quite a few more. “I have hopes that we locate vendors around the outer area and have a couple food vendors in the middle. That will be great if we gain enough vendors,” said Blizzard.

“This is a day for the people of Plains to enjoy, let their hair down, stop worrying about the economy and too many other things,” said Blizzard, “just be happy we live in our town.”