Plains Day comes with fun and sun
Meggie McDonald, Plains graduate, serenades the crowds at Plains Day as she raises money to attend a summer worship school.
Larry McDonald, a Plains resident, serenades the big crowds of Plains Day on a float in the parade at noon on Saturday.
Morgan Beech rides down the street during the Plains Day parade in support of her mother, Nancy Beech who is running for public office.
A llama walked by Dick Williams of Plains stares down the street during the Plains Day parade.
James Jermyn of Plains works the saw in the cross cutting competition during Plains Day.
Plains Day
Alvie Marcellus of Spokane, left, works with DJ Auker of Plains work the saw with the cross cutting competition.
Several children watch the turtle races during Plains Day.
Three turtles look to scatter after being set free from their boxy prison/starting line.
Cannon Bursell, holds his turtle above the ground prepping him for the turtle races.
Plains Day is not just a day to celebrate the town, but a day when people of all ages; young, teens and adults can gather together to share their fondness for the community they call home.
Plains Day is not just a day to celebrate the town, but a day when people of all ages; young, teens and adults can gather together to share their fondness for the community they call home.
Plains Day has been a staple event in the community for a remarkable amount of years and 2010 was no exception. Although Plains Day was booked on the same weekend as Hot Springs' celebration of Homesteader Days, the amount of people out to enjoy a plethora of events and the beautiful sunny day did not seem to be affected by the double booking.
"I thought it was fantastic, what a fun day. I was really happy that it didn't seem like it (Homesteaders) affected numbers at all," said Plains Day co-organizer Kathy Logan.
Aside from the annual car show, which is the biggest feature of Plains Day, the sock hop was a great success as people of all ages came out Saturday evening to enjoy dancing to an eclectic mix of music. Babies, teenagers, seniors and everyone in between came out to dance to 50s music, swing dance, rap and hip hop. The Ryan family from Plains, who are all talented dancers, made sure the dance floor wasn't empty as they helped coax shy participants on to the dance floor by teaching them some dance steps.
"It was so much fun to see everyone dancing and it was a really enjoyable community time," said Logan.
Last year was the first time Plains Day had a sock hop and with a 50s theme as the organizers wanted to give people something to do between the community barbeque dinner and the drive-in movie at sun down. Although last year it did not have very many attendees, this year the turnout was high enough that Logan said they plan to continue having a sock hop in years to come.
The day began at 7 a.m. with the Mason's breakfast at the VFW. There was not a run this year in Plains, as the annual Skunk Alley Run in Hot Springs took place instead. All proceeds for the run went to the Cancer Network of Sanders County.
Following the Mason's breakfast, there was a walking scavenger hunt through Plains with a drawing for all those who completed the scavenger hunt for a chance to win $100 in chamber money. Chamber dollars can be used at the majority of local businesses throughout town.
A motorized scavenger hunt ran throughout the entire day. Drivers were given a list of items to find around Plains, on Highway 28 and in Hot Springs. The scavenger hunt ended at the Symes Hotel in Hot Springs for a barbeque dinner and music.
"It's really cool, you have a list and it gives you some directions on where to go and you look for things like speed limit signs or go down the backstreet behind Mcgownan's and find the historic building, turn a corner and see what the business is and what's the sale their having that day," said President of the Plains Chamber of Commerce and Plains Day co-organizer Kathy Logan.
Logan said there were fewer participants in the motorized scavenger hunt this year with around 50 cars, most likely due to the fact that participants had to drive a little bit further than in previous years.
The Plains library held their annual book sale in the late morning, giving out thank yous to residents for helping pass the library mill levy in the primary election last week.
There were plenty of things to keep the children entertained throughout the day as well with the blow up toys set up at Wild Horse Elementary school and an ice cream social at Rocky Mountain Bank.
Before the car show, the Plains Day parade took place at noon and had a long line of characters and interesting floats pass through Main Street.
The annual crosscut and saw competition at Bock Mountain Stone took place Saturday afternoon.
The drive in movie concluded this year's Plains Day. When the sun went down, the movie Jailhouse Rock began. This movie was selected to represent the theme of Plains Day, which was Jailhouse Rock.
Although Logan felt this Plains Day was a huge success, she said they are still working towards bringing drag races to town for next year's Plains Day.