Food, music, games…Cherry Creek Days put Cleveland in motion last weekend.
The two-day festival opened on Friday with the Firemen’s Pork Chop feed in the Fire Hall and a car show nearby. Meanwhile, at the She Shed, kids could get their faces painted and their bikes decorated. The day ended with live music by the Blue Ringers in a street dance downtown.
Saturday was full of competitions with a bean bag tournament, a pickle ball tournament and the Amazing Race, a new event this year that was based on a TV reality show of the same title.
In the Cleveland version of the Amazing Race, teams of two trekked all over town, looking for clues, solving puzzles and even assembling a cart to race down the street. Competing for two hours in the morning and another hour in the afternoon, friends Cassidy (Kopet) Block and McKenna Robb finished first to win the competition and its $500 prize.
The afternoon started with events for kids At the Fire Hall, a visit by Owatonna’s RAD Zoo with its exotic amphibians and reptiles and a kiddie carnival after.
Later, the grand parade sashayed down Broadway. Bob and Judy Hahn were its grand marshals.
Back at the Fire Hall after, teams faced off with fire hoses for the firemen’s water fights. The day ended with another street dance, this time featuring Buffalo Alice.
Above: Homecoming queen and king Sarena Remiger and Henry Strobel got another trip down Broadway after their first one back in October.
Car show downtown on Friday night
Plinko during the kid’s carnival
More plinko
Squirt gun competition at the kid’s carnival
Caricatures by Scott Lassiter at the kid’s carnival
The prize table for the kid's carnival
Destini Logan poses for a caricature drawing.
Bean bag toss
Blakely Berry in the face painting stand
Tube toss
Ball toss
The Cleveland Legion, Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion color guard was in front of the parade.
Parade grand marshals Bob and Judy Hahn
Scott County-LeSueur County Milk Maid Gretchen Heldberg
10 U and 12 U Community Education softball girls
Addison Sandhurst, Kylie Wobbrock and Hadley Thompson
12 U softball girls
Legion baseball team with coach Andy Schmidt
Jordie Seely was a “Lake Girl” on the Lake Boys’ float, their huge work pontoon.
Cassandra and Caleb Connor with the Boelter parade entry
Referencing Chevy Chase’s movie “Christmas Vacation,” Griswold Lane is the nickname for a short street in Cleveland that displays tons of decorations during the Christmas season. The three neighbors put some of the decorations on the float for a little holiday spirit during Cherry Creek Days.
Bode Bartell with A1 towing
The Cleveland Fire Department’s rescue boat. In front is Sierra Lotspeich.
One of Cleveland’s female water fight teams
Another Cleveland female water fight team
Cleveland firefighters in the water wars
Another view of the Cleveland men’s water fight team.
Instead of zebra stripes, fire chief Brady Hahn wore this vintage red fireman’s coat to referee the water fights.
Cassidy (Kopet) Block and McKenna Robb came in first in the Amazing Race. Their mothers, Jaci and Suzi, also competed as a team.
Elijah Mons in the last contest of the Amazing Race: the cherry toss. He was paired up with his younger brother. Mons’s mother Katie and another one of his brothers took second place in the race for a $250 prize. Emmie Bateman and Abby McCabe were third for a hundo.