Huge crowds celebrated the city of Arnold’s 50th anniversary in style last weekend during the three-day Arnold Days festival.
An estimated 22,000 people attended the event, held Sept. 16-18 at Arnold City Park, said Teresa Kohut, Parks and Recreation Department superintendent.
About 17,000 attended last year’s event, she said.
“I have been to probably every one of (the previous Arnold Days), and I can tell you it was one of the most spectacular ones I have seen,” Mayor Ron Counts said.
He said the city staff worked hard to get ready for the festival.
“The amount of effort and work that goes into them is unbelievable,” he said. “We have such a great staff that is able to get it done and do it right. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated Dave Crutchley (the Parks and Recreation Department director) and his staff and all that they did.”
The weekend featured fireworks on the lake, carnival rides, live music, a craft fair, contests, BMX bike stunt performances, a lumberjack show, a corn hole tournament, a car show and a parade down Jeffco Boulevard to the park. The Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast was held Sept. 17 at the First Baptist Church of Arnold.
Organizers commemorated the anniversary of the city’s incorporation in 1972 during the event, with banners, photo opportunities in front of 50th anniversary backdrops, bigger and better firework shows, anniversary merchandise sales, the distribution of free coffee-table books filled with pictures from the city’s last 50 years and the creation of a special anniversary showpiece.
Kohut said the city gave away about 2,200 coffee-table books.
She said the city has about 200 books still available, which may be picked up at the Arnold Recreation Center, 1695 Missouri State Road.
“It was a very exciting event with a lot of attractions to draw people to the park all three days,” Kohut said. “There was just one thing or another that drew people there, and I think a lot of people came more than one day to experience all of the great stuff. I think for a 50th anniversary it could not have been nicer.”
Opening night
Along with the carnival rides and food and vendor booths, the first night featured a Bubble Extravaganza attraction and a Cosmic Dance Tent.
The dance tent was a new addition to the festival, and Kohut said it paired well with the show the Platinum Rock Legends band put on.
“It was a fun thing,” she said. “It was very popular and well received. It was a good place for people to gather in groups.”
The first two nights of the show closed with a fireworks and laser show.
Counts said he was impressed by the shows put on by Gateway Fireworks of St. Louis.
“They really put on one of the best fireworks displays I have ever seen,” he said. “I have been to a lot of (fireworks displays), and not just at Arnold Days. I have never seen any that compared to this year’s display.”
Full day
Kohut said the festival had the largest Saturday-night attendance she had seen in her 17 years working with the Parks and Recreation Department.
The second day of the festival opened with the annual children’s fishing tournament and the Farmers Market, which operates near the park’s entrance from 8 a.m. to noon each Saturday through Oct. 22.
Kohut said 101 children participated in the fishing tournament, which had about 60 participants last year.
“It was great,” Kohut said. “Kids get so excited when they catch their first fish. We did stock the lake prior to the tournament and didn’t allow fishing until the tournament. So now is a good time to go fishing at the lake at Arnold City Park.”
The day also featured four performances by the Stunt Dudes, a BMX bike stunt group. It was the first time the group performed at Arnold Days.
“Each show attracted about 200 people to watch it,” Kohut said. “I would be in favor of bringing them back.”
Another big attraction during the second day of the festival was the annual Arnold Police Officers Association’s Car and Bike Show. A record 194 vehicles were entered in this year’s show, said Arnold Police Officer Matt Phillips, president of the APOA.
The previous record was 158 entries, which was set last year, he said.
Phillips said former NASCAR driver and Fox High School graduate Kenny Wallace made an appearance during the show, which was great.
“He took pictures with everyone, and he was very interactive with everyone there,” Phillips said. “We were very fortunate to have him this year.”
Phillips said the APOA collected about $8,000 from the event, and the money will be used to fund the group’s community activities, like the Shop with a Hero program held in December that has first responders shop with children for Christmas presents.
Bitter Pill played, helping to close out the second day of the festival.
Prayer breakfast
Counts said 160 people turned out for the Arnold Days Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast held in the First Baptist Church of Arnold Banquet Center.
The event was sponsored by the Arnold Rotary Club and First Baptist Church of Arnold, and First Baptist Church Pastor Kenny Qualls was the keynote speaker.
“I think the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast was one of the best I have ever been to,” Counts said. “It was really well done, and I really enjoyed it.”
Final day
The annual Arnold Days Parade on Sunday featured the Anheuser-Busch company’s Budweiser Clydesdales.
It also had about 75 entrants celebrating the city’s anniversary, said Karen Fay, Parks and Recreation procurement and maintenance coordinator.
“I think we had more floats than normal,” she said. “I think that made the parade better, having all of those floats.”
Fay said the city did not give out a best float award this year. Instead it offered to reimburse those who entered a float in the parade up to $150 of their cost.
Sunday also included a cornhole tournament, with more than 40 two-player teams participating.
In addition, the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show put on two performances, and the Dirty Money band played.
“(The lumberjack show) was very entertaining,” Kohut said. “I loved the fact that they continued to draw people to the park throughout the day.
“Dirty Money is so important and an integral part of Sunday. When people come into the park from the parade, and the park is dead, they will leave. When they come in and a band is on the stage, it creates an air of excitement.”