Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
The Blaine County Sugarbeet Festival is set for Oct. 13 in Chinook, with this year’s highlight focusing on the sheep industry in the county. The festivities start with a free pancake breakfast sponsored by Dan’s Auto Parts in downtown Chinook on Indiana Street, where all events will be held. It wraps up with a parade and street dance. A committee headed by Max Hofeldt has worked to organize the sheep-related events, with outdoor events at the festival set in the 400 block of Indiana and a temporary arena created in a vacant lot south of First Bank. From 1 to 3 p.m., Joy Crawford of Geraldine will hold demonstrations of working border collies, sponsored by Rainbow Irrigation. She will bring several dogs and showing different styles of sheep herding. A gathering of sheep wagons will held from 1 to 5 p. m., with Montana Woolgrowers serving samples of lamb stew. Following the parade, Mike Schuldt will give a sheep-shearing demonstration on the 300 block of Indiana, in front of the former Bar X, with people able to try their own hand at sheep shearing. At 5:30 p.m., a Little Bo Peep contest will be held near the barbecue, which will be held in the park south of Shores Floral. For more information on the sheep-related events, contact Hofeldt at 357-3510 The sheep events, although the focus, are just the tip of the iceberg for events at the 2007 Sugarbeet Festival. People can participate in two fun run/walks, with a three-mile event starting at 10 a.m. and a one-mile event starting at 11 a.m. The event is sponsored by the Sweet Home and Sweet Medical Center and is free, although people can buy a T-shirt for $10. Register online at www.chinookmontana.com or contact Thom MacLean at 357-3198. A Farmer’s Market, food vendors, craft fair and Sugar Mall will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call Lynne Mahan at 357-2880 or register online at www.chinookmontana.com. The next event, from 9 to 11 a.m., is the judging of a sugarbeet growing contest, sponsored by Columbia Grain. Judging, starting at 11 a.m., includes the Beast Dressed and Best Carved. For more information, conTact Juliann Sather at 357-3200. Childrens games, with prizes for all, will be sponsored from 1 to 3 p.m. by Wells Fargo, The Creamery, Tom & Nancy’s Food Farm and Bear Paw Credit Union. For more information, contact Heather DePriest at 357-4201. Performers will entertain on an open stage in front of Inman Park on Main Street, set to close shortly before the parade. The entertainment is scheduled to start with storyteller Vic Mord at 12:15 p.m., followed by poet and fiddler Meda Terry at 12:50 p.m. County music vocalist Valerie White is scheduled to start performing at 1:25, with the Alliance Worship Team set to perform Christian music at 2 p.m. The folk-musician group Brotherhood is slated to start at 2:35 p.m., with Faith Halingstad and Family set to close the performance starting at 3:10 p.m. Bed races will be conducted at 2 p. m., sponsored by Ace Hardware of Chinook. Teams of four will compete, with competitors required to be at least 16-years-old. The rules are on the entry forms, available at Ace Hardware or at chinookmontana.com. Contact Donna Pike at 357-2564 for more information. The parade lineup starts at 3:30 p.m. at Meadowlark School and the parade starts at 4 p.m. Prizes are $250 for first place, $150 for second and $100 for third. For more information call Vanessa at 357-3219 or Becky at 357-4206. The chamber barbecue, which costs $5 a plate, starts at 5 p.m. and is sponsored by Chinook Pharmacy and Bear Paw Meats. The festival closes out with a street dance starting at 6 p.m., sponsored by Bresnan Communications and with music by The Renegades.
