Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:49 PM CDT
60th annual Neoga Days expected to be 'amazing'
By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer
nwest@jg-tc.com
NEOGA — Despite a sputtering economy, high gas prices and the ongoing threat from severe weather, residents of Neoga say there is still cause to celebrate.
In fact, they hope this week’s 60th Neoga Days festival will be “amazing.”
Neoga Days runs Thursday-Saturday at Jennings Park and features the return of the “Amazing Race” event introduced two years ago. Last year, organizers held the traditional scavenger hunt in place of the Amazing Race — a localized version of the hit CBS television show.
“It’s just something different,” said Shari Roy, who co-chairs the Amazing Race with Amy Kepp. “The first year, people seemed to like it.”
The theme of Neoga Days this year is “Let Freedom Ring.”
Donna Lawrence, Neoga Days chairwoman, said, “I think everybody working together makes Neoga Days a success. There are so many groups and organizations that use Neoga Days as an opportunity to raise funds for their group.”
Organizers are accepting 15 teams for the Amazing Race. Competitors must complete 10 different Neoga-related challenges across the city.
A team can be composed of “as many people (that) can fit in a vehicle,” said Roy.
Registration for the Amazing Race is on a first-come, first-served basis, and begins at 5 p.m. Saturday at the park. The race begins at 6 p.m. The entry fee is $10 per team, with a purse of $100 for first place.
For more information about the Amazing Race, call Roy at 273-8083.
“It’s always a popular event and gets a lot of people involved,” said Lawrence, who added she is “a little concerned about attendance this year, just because of the state of the economy.
“Participation has been great though,” she said. “Neoga residents always seem to pull together and work things out.”
In light of economic woes, the carnival at Neoga Days will offer arm bands for admission “to try to keep prices down as much as possible,” Lawrence said.
New to Neoga Days this year is the Mike Porter and the Panther Creek Duo, which will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Porter and his sister, Marsha, have won various awards performing together, according to www.mikeporter.com. They were the 2007 North American Country Music Association Duo of the Year, and their album “Panther Creek Duo” was named 2007 NACMAI Country Music Album of the Year.
The Neoga Days Jr. Miss and Miss Neoga 2008 Pageant will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at Jennings Park. It will feature five Jr. Miss and eight Miss Neoga contestants, said Amanda Szatkowski, chairwoman of the pageant.
She said the time of the pageant is “a little different than normal, because usually the pageant is on Friday night.”
Saturday’s activities include a parade, and Doris McKay, equestrian chairwoman, asked that riders bring their horses to the Neoga Junior-Senior High School parking lot at 10 a.m., with judging at 10:30 a.m. and the parade launching at 11 a.m.
Neoga Days schedule
Thursday
5 p.m., boys baseball tournament (ages 11-12) and Methodist Men Fish Dinner.
6 p.m., food stand opens; national anthem by Crystal and Kayla Foor; carnival opens; and bingo.
6:30 p.m., presentation of baby contest winners.
7 p.m., Junior Miss and Miss Neoga Pageant.
Friday
1-5 p.m., quilt show at Short Furniture Store.
5 p.m., boys baseball tournament and Knights of Columbus Chicken Dinner.
6 p.m., bingo; food stand opens; carnival; and game show.
8 p.m., Decade Late Band.
Saturday
7-7:45 a.m., registration for 5K run/walk by cross country team at Neoga Elementary School.
8 a.m., 1 mile run/walk.
8:15 a.m., 5K run.
9 a.m.-4 p.m., quilt show.
10 a.m., parade line up, Neoga Middle School.
10:30 a.m., parade judging.
11 a.m., parade.
Noon, Class Pack Car/Motorcycle Show at NES.
1 p.m., food stand opens; carnival; and kiddie tractor pull.
2 p.m., bingo.
3 p.m., car show awards at NES.
4:30 p.m., Dance Etc.
5 p.m., Knights of Columbus Pork Dinner and Amazing Race registration.
6 p.m., Amazing Race.
7:30 p.m., Mike Porter and the Panther Creek Band, featuring the Banning Family.
Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
