This year’s annual Arnold Days festival featured large crowds despite a few weather interruptions, said Ajsa Roach, Parks and Recreation Department deputy director.
She said approximately 26,000 people attended the event last weekend in Arnold City Park, with about 6,000 people on Sept. 19, about 13,000 on Sept. 20 and about 6,000 on Sept. 21.
Organizers estimated that about 20,000 people attended in 2024.
Roach said a couple of brief showers struck on Sept. 20 and 21, but they didn’t cause major disruptions to the event, like the previous year, when the last day of activities at the park was canceled after a storm saturated the festival grounds.
“I thought (this year’s festival) was awesome,” Roach said. “We were definitely happy that it didn’t rain much. We were all extremely ecstatic that we were able to hold full days of events.”
The parade, held Sept. 21, included 50 entrants, and about 8,000 spectators lined Jeffco Boulevard between the Fox C-6 Service Center and the park to watch it go by, said Karen Fay, Parks and Recreation maintenance and procurement coordinator.
“We had a lot of groups with children,” Kay said.
The New Hope United Methodist of Arnold won the trophy for best float, which featured a backdrop with this year’s parade theme written on it.
“They really portrayed this year’s theme well,” said Caitlin Overkamp, Parks and Recreation supervisor.
Gina Zogorean, a Fox C-6 School District volunteer, was the parade’s grand marshal.
“I think it was really awesome how when we started the parade and pulled out she got the crowd going,” said Grace Rogers, Parks and Recreation supervisor.
The opening night featured a new Micro Reality Racing game, which simulated a Sprint Cup stock car race with remote control cars.
“People were very excited about the racing,” Fay said.
The return of Dynamo Pro Wrestling, which held a series of matches on Sept. 19 and 20, was a big hit again, organizers said.
“They did matches near the top of each hour, and even during the breaks, people stayed on the bleachers and were ready to go,” Overkamp said.
The second day of the event kicked off with the annual Children’s Fishing Tournament, held by the Jefferson County Optimist Club and Arnold Parks and Recreation Department. Overkamp said 161 children participated in the fishing tournament, up from 106 last year.
“It was an awesome turnout, and we had some great fish that were caught,” she said.
Once again the St. Louis Longbeards, a chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, were on hand to help children build birdhouses and set up BB gun and archery shooting ranges.
“The activities with the Longbeards had a great turnout with 15 to 20 kids participating at a time.”
Roach said the craft show on Sept. 20 included 21 vendors and featured an array of new items this year.
“We had a woodcarver who did laser engraving, freeze-dried candy and a 3D printer that was a big hit,” she said.
The Back the Blue Car Show, held Sept. 21 by the Arnold Police Officers Association and the Arnold Kiwanis Club, set another record for entrants, said Kevin Wilson, APOA president and an Arnold Police officer.
He said 354 vehicles entered the show, breaking last year’s record of 292 vehicles.
“The amount of people who came out this year as opposed to last year, we were blown away,” said Wilson, who also is the school resource officer at Fox High School. “I was not expecting that many, so it was great to see. I was talking to some folks there, and they said a car club from Oklahoma drove in, which was pretty cool to see.”
Wilson said the show brought in about $24,000, adding that the Kiwanis Club will receive $1,500, and the APOA also plans to donate money to the Gateway Food Pantry in Arnold.
The APOA also will use some of the proceeds to help fund its annual Shop with a Hero event in December, as well as an officer benevolent fund to help families of officers who are either injured or killed and other community events.
Wilson said 17 car show awards were handed out in various categories, and five entrants received special choice awards. Wilson said Jim Avery won the Police Chief Award with his 2025 Porche GT3; Don Urquhart captured the Mayor’s Choice Award with a 1931 Chevrolet sedan; Jane Wilde received the APOA Choice Award with a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air; Dave Kerp captured the Officer O’Connor’s Choice Award with a 1948 Ford sedan; and Greg Hubler received the Kiwanis Club Choice Award with a 1966 Chevrolet Impala convertible.
Roach said Circuit Kaput’s magic show and Serengeti Steve’s performance featuring a python, alligator, tarantula and scorpion were packed on Saturday afternoon.
A baby-crawl contest and a children’s cupcake-eating contest and an adult pitcher-holding competition drew plenty of interest. Roach said 15 babies entered the crawling contest, 60 children took part in the cupcake-eating contest and 16 people participated in the Grasp for Glory, which challenged participants to hold a pitcher of water with their arm fully extended for the longest amount of time.
Musical performances by The RetroNerds on Sept. 19, Plastic Kings on Sept. 20 and Rock ‘n’ Rascal on Sept. 21 also attracted large crowds, organizers said.
Each of the first two nights ended with a fireworks and laser show by Gateway Fireworks Displays.
“They are a fan favorite,” Roach said. “I thought the shows were great.”
She said the weekend was a success and thanked the city’s community partner and event sponsor, Arsenal Credit Union. She also thanked the city’s staff members and the Arnold Police Department and members of its Explorers Program for their help with the event, as well as the vendors and food truck businesses for their participation.
She said the Parks and Recreation Department will post pictures from the festivities and invites people to post their pictures as well.
Anyone who may have lost an item during Arnold Days may call the Parks and Recreation Department at 636-282-6648 to see if the item was recovered.
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