Eureka Days, the city’s three-day festival, drew a crowd of about 10,000 to the downtown area Sept. 25-27.
Lizzie Roberds, Parks and Recreation Department supervisor, said she was glad to see a high degree of participation in the Sept. 26 parade along Central Avenue, which had the theme “Red, White and Route 66.” The theme celebrated both America’s 250th birthday and the 100th anniversary of Route 66.
“There were just over 1,200 people in the parade, which was nuts,” Roberds said. “It was so fun to see so many groups participate. I think more high school groups participated than we’ve seen in a long time, all the different sports and activity groups.”
Joe and Margherita Boccardi, owners of Joe Boccardi’s restaurant on Central Avenue, were the grand marshals for the parade. The Italian restaurant opened in Eureka in 1971 and is celebrating 55 years of business.
The Citizen of the Year – local real estate agent Josh Kahn – and the Businesspeople of the Year – Beth and Brad Gould, owners of UPS Store No. 5213 – all walked or rode in convertibles in the parade.
Members of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce chose the winning submissions for best decorated parade float. Executive Director Kara Woldtvedt said First Adventures Academy took home the top prize of $400, Eureka Elementary won second place and received $200, and Geggie Elementary came in third, winning $100.
Roberds said Old Town Automotive sponsored the float prizes this year.
“We had so many others (floats) in the running, so it’s a bummer to only be able to do three winners, but we’re so lucky that Old Town Automotive stepped in and sponsored the event this year so we can give them an award,” she said.
The opening night of Eureka Days honored the late Dolly Parton, who died on Aug. 25. Friday, Sept. 25, was considered “9 to 5 Day,” and attendees were encouraged to make book donations and pick up Dolly-themed stickers and temporary tattoos. The evening also included carnival rides provided by American Banner Amusements and a musical performance by The Tailgators.
The second day began with the parade through Old Town. Carnival rides were open throughout the day, and festivalgoers were able to purchase products from area vendors. Presley Aaron and Dominic Tocco, Tom Winter and the Teenage Dirtbags played music throughout the day.
Later in the evening, J&M Displays of Dittmer put on a patriotic fireworks show from Drewel Park. The show lasted about 15 minutes.
On Sunday, Sept. 27, a “Kid’s Korner” with special vendors catered toward children was set up, and stein-holding and chicken wing eating contests were held. Singers Ice Cream Band and a DJ played music throughout the day.
Wonder Woman and Captain America, with Dream Time Princess Events, walked around the fairgrounds on Sunday, interacting with children and posing for photos. For the safety of the superheroes, their true identities could not be revealed to the press.
Wonder Woman said every child she spoke to said they were having a great time at the festival.
“They’ve been loving it, and me, too,” she said. “If I were a kid, I would be obsessed with this place. There’s so much to do.”
“We’re asking the children if there are any bad guys lurking about,” Captain America said. “A lot of them tend to say that their dad is undercover as a villain.”
Roberds said Steve Ewers won the chicken wing eating contest for the first time. Ewers reportedly told city staff that he’s been practicing for this contest all year.
“I want to say he had about 14 ounces of chicken,” Roberds said. “This is year number eight for the chicken wing eating contest, so having people be so excited for it still is great.”
Roberds said the carnival rides were popular on Sunday because festivalgoers could purchase a $20 wristband good for unlimited rides that day. On other days, single-ride tickets cost $1 or 24 tickets could be purchased for $20.
Adin Casey of Pacific and Simon Kastner of Eureka decided on Sunday to wait until later in the evening to take a spin on the carnival rides.
“We’re coming back a little later when the hype dies out a little bit,” Casey said. “Personally, I like the rides. It’s a different vibe at night.”
Kastner said he usually comes to Eureka Days every year for the good food.
Josh Boyer of Eureka came to Eureka Days with his kids on Saturday and Sunday. His family moved to the city last year.
“It’s our second year coming (to Eureka Days),” Boyer said. “It’s been a good experience, and the kids are having a blast. (The parade) was great. I was actually surprised to see how many people were in the floats. It was a long parade.”
Ramona Ferguson, who is “mee-maw” to Boyer’s children, came from Crystal City to check out Eureka Days.
“It’s worth the drive,” she said. “It’s a good family event.”
Zane Gough, a sophomore at Eureka High School, was working at the “smash car” booth along with Chase Scarato, a junior from Rockwood Summit High School. For a $5 donation to Eureka Fire Protection District’s junior firefighter program, attendees donned safety goggles and gloves and beat up old cars with a sledgehammer.
Gough, who has participated in the junior firefighter program since his eighth-grade year, said the donations will be used to buy shirts, hats and firefighting gear for the program.
Gough said his father is a firefighter for the Maryland Heights Fire Protection District.
“I come from a first responder family, police and fire and military, and my dad’s a fireman,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to become a fireman since I was little.”
Scarato said he’s learned a lot from the program, including how to search a building and rescue the occupants while blindfolded, how to treat medical patients and bust down a door. He joined the program the summer before his freshman year.
Nearby, Steve Teague was helping his friends Micah and Courtney Turnbough, the owners of Singers Ice Cream, at their vendor booth selling ice cream. On Sunday, Singers employees, including Micah and Courtney, took to the Eureka Days main stage to perform family-friendly hit songs.
Teague said this was the shop band’s first official performance.
“Micah and Courtney, the owners, have always been involved with music, and that was the reason for naming the ice cream shop the way they did, and having karaoke (at the shop),” he said. “They really want people to get involved with music along with having the world’s best ice cream. Really, those two things go together very nicely.”
Teague said Singers had quite a few customers over the weekend at Eureka Days, noting that the shop’s Oreo and strawberry ice cream flavors were top sellers. The shop is located at 2478 Taylor Road in Wildwood.
“It seems like attendance has been pretty strong, and everybody loves the ice cream,” Teague said.
Also in the vendors area, Ryan Rombach was selling mums with his wife, Sarah. They co-own Rombach Mums, based in West County. The couple started the business last year and frequently sell their flowers at the Wildwood Farmers Market.
“With the cooler weather, we can’t really complain now,” Ryan said. “Everybody’s finally feeling that fall spirt and mum season is upon us.”
Ryan said they’ve seen a decent amount of foot traffic, adding that the tricolor mums are popular among customers.
“We figured since it was going to be a nice weekend, we definitely wanted to bring our mums to the Eureka area, where we don’t come that often,” he said.
Amanda Belcher came with her daughter, Aubrey, on Saturday and Sunday at Eureka Days. Aubrey, a third grader at Geggie Elementary, said she loves the carnival rides at the festival, even riding one six times in one day. She also found some squishy dumpling toys at a vendor booth, which she said she loved.
“(Aubrey) really looks forward to this; she lives for Eureka Days,” Belcher said. “She walked in the parade last year with Dance Art Academy.”
Mary Griggs, Aubrey’s grandmother, said the festival is fun for everyone.
“I’m not from Eureka, but everybody is super friendly here,” she said. “We chat with people we don’t even know.”
