Sugarbeet Festival brings events to Chinook

The ninth annual Sugarbeet Festival will draw area residents and travelers to Chinook for festivities.

Rita Surber, the manager of the Chinook Chamber of Commerce, said the festival is full of a variety of events.

The theme of the festival this year is “The Wild, Wild West,” and decorated storefronts lining the streets give the town the feel it has been placed back in time.

“We’ve been really blown away by the business participation,” Surber said. “The storefronts look awesome.”

The business with the best storefront will win the people’s choice award following the 4:30 p.m. Saturday main parade that will run down Main Street.

The biggest day of the festival, Saturday, will have live music all afternoon for those attending events, such as the barbecue contest and the farmer’s market.

“The main attraction is the sugarbeet growing and decorating contest,” Surber said. “We always have that event. We probably have over 50 people that will enter their sugarbeets.”

A prize of $50 in Chinook Bucks will be given out to the person with the largest sugarbeet. The decorating contest is split up into three age groups and the winners from each group will be awarded $25 Chinook Bucks.

Another popular event is the black pot cooking contest Sunday, Surber said. The competition is split into categories for main dish, side dish and dessert and competitors have the option of entering all three.

Kids will have the chance to try their hand at western-style activities at Hands On History. There will be six activities for the kids, including: roping, beading, leather tooling, washing clothes and branding.

Other attraction include a competition for people dressed up as members of the television show “Gunsmoke,” a stickhorse parade, a “fun run,” a hay maze, a can-can contest, a horseshoe contest, the farmer’s market, and a drive-in-style movie night showing of “The Apple Dumpling Gang.”

Vendors will be selling their wares on Main Street Saturday and Sunday; possibly Friday if they set up their booths early, Surber said.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, the Western Style Show will be held at the Chinook High School auditorium. Last year, the show saw over 200 participants showing off their western-style clothing.

To see the schedule of events and contact information, one can go to http://www.sugarbeetfest.com.