The crowds at Arnold Days dipped this year as temperatures rose.
Ajsa Roach, Arnold Parks and Recreation Department deputy director, said about 15,000 people attended this year’s three-day festival, which was held Sept. 18-20 at Arnold City Park. Last year, about 26,000 people attended over the three days.
“We recall this being our hottest one in the last 20 years,” she said.
Roach said personnel from the Rock Township Ambulance District and Rock Community Fire Protection District treated some people for heat-related illnesses throughout the weekend.
“We had some people overheat,” she said. “(Rock Township and Rock Community) had tents and were the first aid station throughout the event. They were great to have on site.”
Parks and rec staff members said they believe many people created special memories as they enjoyed the festival’s carnival rides, food, music performances, fireworks shows and more despite the high temperatures.
“The temperature definitely impacted our attendance,” Roach said. “The staff did an amazing job staying positive, and we really appreciate the vendors and volunteers staying with us throughout the event. We also thank the community for coming out. It was definitely a hot one.”
Montana Lane, Parks and Recreation Department recreation supervisor, said the new kids’ zone on Sept. 18 was well attended. The zone included a foam party, photo opportunities with superheroes and characters based on the Paw Patrol television series, facepainting and balloon creations and a safety demonstration from Arnold Police officers and Rock Community firefighters.
“Kids and parents really reacted positively,” she said. “We saw them taking pictures. It was fun.”
On Sept. 19, Arnold was unable to have the Chalk the Lot attraction, which was to provide opportunities for people to draw pictures in chalk on a section of pavement, due to the heat, but the city did provide the Catch a Memory: Pokemon photo opportunity.
Catch a Memory provided people with a chance to take pictures with a Pokemon character, and four children entered the Pokemon-themed costume contest with each netting a prize.
“Adults and children were waiting to take pictures,” said Karen Fay, Parks and Recreation Department procurement and maintenance coordinator. “I think it brought back memories for those who are now in their 30s, and they wanted to take pictures as well. It was cute to see that.”
Roach said the second day of the festival had the highest attendance with about 6,000 coming to the park throughout the day.
She said the morning activities, which were well attended, included a fishing tournament held by the Optimist Club; birdhouse making and a BB gun shooting range with the St. Louis Longbeards, a chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation; and the Arnold Police Officers Association and Kiwanis Club’s Back the Blue Car Show.
Roach said about 130 children participated in the fishing tournament.
“Saturday morning was very busy, and in the evening, it picked back up,” Roach said.
Arnold Police Office Kevin Wilson, who is the president of the APOA, said 317 people entered vehicles in the car show, and approximately 4,000 people walked through to look at the vehicles. Last year, the Back the Blue Car Show had 354 entrants.
“I think the heat definitely played a factor in the number of attendees and participants,” Wilson said. “We still had a great turnout.”
Lawrence O’Neal of Wright City won Best in Show with a 2017 VA Chopper, and Ron Lammert of Imperial snagged the Mayor’s Choice award with a 1954 Ford F-100. John Gross of Farmington was selected as the Chief’s Choice winner with a 1977 Ford F-250, and Sue, Jeff and Jaelee Yates took home the Officer O’Connor award with a 1968 Cadillac Deville. The Kiwanis Choice award went to Neil Benda’s 1945 Chevrolet pickup, and Larry O’Neal won the APOA Choice award with a 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle.
Hometowns were not available for the O’Connor, Kiwanis and APOA awards.
Wilson said the APOA and Kiwanis Club, which helped organize and run the event, collected about $22,000 from this year’s show. The APOA uses the money from the show for various community events, such as the Shop with a Hero program that provides shopping trips for children during the holiday season, and the Kiwanis Club uses the money for its community events, such as the annual Giving and Light Fair that will be held Dec. 6 at the Fox C-6 Service Center in Arnold.
“It is tremendously helpful for us to reach out and help the community,” Wilson said of the money collected from the show. “It means a lot to be able to help out and make a positive impact in the community.”
The Dynamo Pro Wrestling performances on Sept. 18-19 continue to be a big draw during Arnold Days. This was the third year the wrestling federation held matches during the festival.
“Any time you walked by the ring, there were so many people watching,” Roach said. “The Arnold community definitely loves wrestling.”
The three contests held by the parks and rec department on Sept. 19 drew plenty of participants and spectators.
The Baby Crawling contest had 10 participants with 10-month-old Wrenley Waldmann winning the race, and 50 children participated in the Cupcake Eating Contest that was won by Natalie Lafrance, 12, of Arnold. The Grasp for Glory pitcher holding competition had 15 participants with an Imperial man, Lonnie R., winning for the second year in a row.
The Grasp for Glory winner’s full name was not available.
“The Grasp for Glory champion came back and won again, so that was fun to watch,” Roach said. “The baby who won the Baby Crawl ended up crawling to someone who wasn’t a family member, so that was fun to watch. The Cupcake Eating Contest was great, and we had great participation.”
Parks and rec staff members said musical performances by Real Rock Revival on Sept. 18, SuperJam on Sept. 19 and D&L Music on Sept. 20 were each a hit.
“I think the community liked them all,” Lane said. “Saturday was the most attended, and people were very supportive of SuperJam. On Sunday, we had D&L Music, and he did a great job.”
The fireworks and lasers displays on Sept. 18-19 also drew praise from people in the park.
“We received so many compliments,” Roach said. “People loved the shows.”
The Arnold Days parade on Sept. 20 had 40 participants with about 4,000 people lining Jeffco Boulevard to watch the procession.
“Jeffco was packed,” Fay said. “I was impressed.”
Donna Young, a State Farm Insurance agent, won the best float award. This year’s theme was “Celebrating 250 Years of Freedom.”
“She really showed the theme,” Roach said. “They had a really cool blowup, and the staff all had celebratory shirts. I feel like they embodied our theme really well.”
Roach said it was amazing to see how many people came to Arnold Days.
“Even with the heat, the community showed their support,” she said. “We thank the community for joining us because Arnold Days is about celebrating our community. We want to thank our staff, volunteers, vendors and our event-sponsor Vantage Credit Union. We know it was a hot weekend, and we all made the best out of it.”
The next park events will be the annual Gobble Gobble Run on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, and the city’s Christmas in the Park, which is held in the Farmers Market area at the front of the park, on Dec. 5.
