Published: September 10, 2009 08:13 am      

Continuing the craze of Harrah Daze

Organizations in Harrah are finishing up last-minute errands for the city’s largest community event of the year.

Harrah Daze will kick off Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with a parade that salutes the United States military. The parade will begin at N.E. 10th Street and Reno Avenue. A performance, however, will take place in the center of town by city hall. Gordon Jeney, Harrah Daze chairman, suggested these seats as the best for parade-goers.

After the parade, activities will continue at Harrah Heritage Park. The festival is planned as an all-day event, ending with a firework show at 9:30 p.m. Scott Dull, president of the Harrah Chamber of Commerce, and Jeney said about 8,000 people attended throughout the day last year.

“We’re actually expecting a bigger crowd this year,” said Jeney. “It keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

Activities for the event are varied. Performers will take to the stage throughout the afternoon, culminating with a performance by the Red Dirt Rangers Band at 8 p.m. Miss Harrah Daze will be crowned at 4 p.m. A fishing derby, hosted by the Kiwanis Club, will take place for children from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. A blood drive and health fair will also be available from 1-3 p.m. Craft booths and food vendors will be set up throughout the park as well. Inflatables and games will be available too.

This year, a new event has been added to the schedule. Children from ages 5 to 12 will have the chance to participate in a greased pig contest where they will chase four pigs lathered in baby oil.

Jeney said it is his hope to keep the festival fresh by adding new events every year.

Dull and Jeney said the festival has been in Harrah for as long as they remember. The past five or so years, though, they noted, it has began to be revived.

“It’s truly become a community event,” said Jeney.

Dull credits the revival to organization and planning for the event. Getting more organizations involved also helped the day’s growth, he noted.

Both Jeney and Dull agreed that the city government getting more involved escalated the celebration as well.

“They are a lot more active in sponsoring this event,” Jeney noted.

Jeney said another good move made by the city in the event planning was setting a solid date for each year-- the Saturday after Labor Day.

“This enables vendors and others to plan for this a year in advance,” said Jeney.

A shuttle bus will be available to pick up and take residents to the park for the event. There will be three designated pick-up points: Harrah Middle School, 20665 Walker St.; Russell Babb Elementary, 20901 N.E. 10th St. and St. Teresa’s Catholic Church, 1576 Tim Holt Drive.

More information on the event can be found at http://www.harrahchamberofcommerce.com/events.html.