29th annual Pride of Hoyt Days set for weekend
On Saturday, Aug. 29, rain or shine, the residents of Hoyt invite everyone in the area to come and share in a little community pride.
The 29th annual Pride of Hoyt Days event will be held Saturday with most events taking place in Hoyt City Park, according to event organizer Melissa Hosier, who noted this year’s event promises a full day of activities for all ages. There will be plenty of food, games and crafts, along with a parade, a dance and a community church service on Sunday, Hosier said.
This year, the grand marshals of the Pride of Hoyt Days parade will be Jim and Sandy Rickel, she noted.
The annual event began in 1986 as a celebration of the city’s centennial, but was continued through the years as a fund-raising event for the city park, where the city’s community building is located. The community building was the first major project to benefit from funds raised during the event, it was reported.
Saturday’s events begin with a breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the community building, where Hosier said members of Hoyt United Methodist Church will provide a morning meal for a free-will donation. Several items donated by merchants in Hoyt, Mayetta and Holton will be on display for a silent auction that will go until 5 p.m., she said.
The festival’s craft show will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the 4-H building, it was reported, and any interested area arts and crafts vendors are encouraged to contact event president Nancy Bailey for more information on setting up a booth.
Two of the annual event’s most popular sports activities will begin at 8:30 a.m., Hosier said. The festival’s mud volleyball tournament will begin at that time; registration is $45 per team, and teams are asked to register by the end of the day today. To register, contact Kim Clements at (785) 986-6970.
Also at 8:30 a.m., the first of two fun runs will begin in the park, with participants in sixth grade and older running first, followed by a run for kids in pre-school through fifth grade at 9:30 a.m. Hosier said Michaela Stair and Lucas Stumpf are in charge of the fun runs, and there is no registration fee for the event — just line up at the south entrance of the park, in front of the community building.
Classic cars and trucks and antique tractors are invited to the park for their respective shows, which will begin at 9 a.m. and continue through 4 p.m., it was reported. Various food vendors will also start setting up in the park at about 9 a.m.
Activities for kids of all ages are also set to begin at 9 a.m., with a kid’s train, obstacle course, moon bounce and other games. Derral Sommerfeld will also bring his horse-drawn wagon to the event at that time, providing wagon rides at a charge of $2 per rider.
There will also be a horseshoe tournament starting at 10 a.m., and prior registration is required for those interested in participating. For more information or to register, call Mike McClaskey at (785) 986-6341.
A garden tractor pull will once again be held as part of the Pride of Hoyt festival, with weigh-in to begin at noon and pulls to begin at 1 p.m. For more information or to sign up for the pulls, call Keith Hug at (785) 966-2468.
Starting at about 1:30 p.m., participants in the Pride of Hoyt parade will begin lining up in the Royal Valley High School parking lot. The parade will begin at 2 p.m. and proceed north on Highland Avenue to the city park.
Then, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., the festival’s fried chicken dinner will begin in the community building; dinners are $7.50 per plate. Hoyt Baptist Church will also be serving homemade ice cream, it was reported.
Saturday’s activities will conclude with a dance featuring the Marc Houser Band, a Topeka-based country-rock group formerly known in the area as BorderLine, from 9 p.m. to midnight in the park. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade and free for pre-school children.
The festival will conclude with a community church service starting at 10 a.m. in the park’s shelter house.
Personal utility vehicles are not allowed off the park’s main road during the event, with exceptions to be made for handicapped persons and event staff. Volunteers are also being sought to help with the day’s event, Hosier said.
For more information, call Bailey at (785) 986-6758 or Hosier at (785) 409-2653.
