Reflecting on the 61st Annual Saco Fun Days

The 61st annual Saco Fun Days Labor Day celebration kicked off the evening of Friday Aug. 30th with a community Potluck put on by Robert Plouffe. Close to 70 people showed up for the annual Friday evening dinner and about 25 assorted dishes were brought in by various community members. There were little to no leftovers by the time everyone had finished eating. After stomachs were full attendees made their way over to Miller Park for the cornhole tournament. The event lasted well into the night and was enjoyed by both spectators and all competitors. A total of twenty one teams played Friday night and tournament results were: 1st Place- Wrangler Jones and Reno Shambo, 2nd place Marshall Cain and Joseph Howard, 3rd Place Jeff Howard and Glenn Grainbois. Nick Kuehl provided the boards and running the Cornhole tournament!

Travis Rhoads- Montarctica Productions rounded off the first day and did a great job of entertaining the Friday night crowd. Karaoke at the Rebar Saloon attracted all the late-night talent with Bartender Matt Sudduth doing an outstanding job of serving drinks and entertaining close to 40 patrons. Karaoke participants were given a surprise performance by “Siouxperman” when Travis asked him to step up to the mic and give the crowd a live performance. Dorrance Comes Last, AKA “Siouxpa”, really did an impressive job of getting people on their feet and working the crowd. It was truly a unique and awesome performance to watch.

Day two of Fun Days began 10:30 Saturday morning with the parade line up followed by the parade at 11:00. The parade consisted of around 50 participants from the area including Grand Marshal’s Bill and Jacki Bryson, Color Guard, local businesses, emergency response units, Saco School, classic cars, Shriners members, and horseback riders. Though there were many great floats and parade entries, the parade judges voted the following three parade entries the top three places. Parade winners were: 3rd place Saco Pep Club with their Panther Float. 2nd Place Nick and John Yeska with their Rust Remodel Vehicle, and 1st place awarded to Isaac Gaurdipee with the Motorcycle he self-fabricated from a 3-wheeler. Following the parade the community BBQ commenced with what original Saco Chamber member Robert Plouffe had said was some of the most attendees he’d ever seen. Businesses from Havre, Glasgow, Hinsdale, Saco, Malta, and Havre were generous enough to donate over 100 items to be given away as prizes for the button draw.

The 3rd Annual County Line Arena Open Rodeo was held Saturday afternoon starting with the Calf Scramble and ending with the Wild Pony Race. The rodeo had a great turnout with contestants and though not all events were filled, an estimated 400 people showed up for the rodeo. Rodeo attendees enjoyed food provided by A.E. Catering, were also able to shop for County Line Arena merchandise, and enjoy a beverage served by Rebar Saloon under the Korman Excavating and Fencing, LLC party tent. When asked if she had a successful time at Fun Days, Alicia of A.E. Catering said she thought she “fed everyone at the rodeo about four times over.”

Saturday evening’s events were held up town in front of Rebar Saloon beginning with the Minnow Races that started at 6 p.m.. Racers were able to purchase their minnow in the calcutta and shortly thereafter, the races were on! Official race winners were: 3rd place Carla Sudbrack, 2nd place Nick Kuehl and Rowdy Beil, and 1st place Kelcey Knaff and Colt Knaff. Following the Minnow Races, Chisholm Christensen provided the Saturday night entertainment and put on a great show for the street dance.

The final day Fun Days and Labor Day weekend with the Liz and Audie Simpson of Cook Wagon Catering were kind enough to fire up the ovens and serve breakfast to those in need of a hearty breakfast. When the morning crowd was fed they headed down the block for the annual Softball Tournament held at Simpson Field. An estimated 60 people showed up to either watch or play in the tournament. Four teams that consisted of ten to twelve players of all ages battled it out on the field with Team Four taking first place! Team Four players were: Becca Huber, Larry Ross Simpson, Jason Beil, Jessa Erickson, Gage (last name unknown), Jayten (last name unknown), Brad Huber, Justin Martin, and Jayden Erickson. Last, but certainly not the least event of Fun Days, was the Horseshoe Tournament held Sunday afternoon at Miller Park. A total of 18 teams competed and at the end of the night, Jenna Korman and Mike Johnson walked away as tournament champions. Jack Korman and Jim Wagner were the second-place team and Bobbie Huber and Colten Pekovitch were the third place team.

Walter Pekovitch fed everyone Sunday night at the Horseshoe Tournament, it was well appreciated.

As president of the Saco Chamber, I started trying to list everyone that stepped up and helped the chamber and County Line Arena Rodeo Committee during the Fun Days weekend. However, the list of names started to get overwhelming, and it was hard to ensure I had included everyone. So many individual community members were willing to help out at a moment’s notice and I just wanted to let you all know that you have no idea how greatly appreciated you are! Because of your willingness to step in and help whenever, wherever, and however you could, Saco Fun Days was a huge success. I’m so very grateful to you all for taking time out of your weekend to help make sure things went well! Rebar Saloon and their crew- checked on chamber members and helped us put on the entire three-day Fun Days weekend! Robert and Betty Plouffe and all the Pay-N-Save staff- stayed open during the weekend and were extremely helpful at the Potluck and BBQ! Sorry we ran you out of mostly all your bread and buns! Town of Saco workers Jorgen Olson and Dale Plouffe- you guys worked your tails off making sure Saco looked great and we appreciate you guys for your hard work the entire weekend! County Line Arena Rodeo Committee- you guys worked so hard to put on a great rodeo and we are grateful for all the time and effort you put in. I’m confident the rodeo was enjoyed by all! Kirsten and Annie Albus- you both did a wonderful job with the parade line up! Darrel Gairrett, it was good to hear your voice again! It was great that he announced the parade! Chad and Erin Bock- we appreciate guys for putting on the Minnow Races and working to make sure it was a successful event! Nick Kuehl- you do an excellent job of running a really good cornhole tournament and we appreciate you for providing everything for the tournament! Lacey Beil- your hard work in running and announcing the Softball tournament was awesome! To the vendors and entertainers- A.E. Catering, Travis Rhoads & Montarctica Productions, and Chisholm Christensen - we appreciate you for showing up and being a part of Saco Fun Days! Brittany Christopherson- ran the Rebar Caesar Bar on a very short notice! Jay and Katy Denham- worked as hard as the chamber members during Fun Days weekend! To the Chamber members Aaron Albus- officer, Jed Korman- officer, Larry Ross Simpson- officer, Dannie Gehrke- Secretary, and Jody Simpson- Treasurer/VP- you all are an outstanding group to work with!!! Each of you had great ideas and you all worked so hard before and after Fun Days to make sure things went well! I appreciate you all for your patience with me before and after Fun Days!