Eureka Days organizers had to completely revamp the city’s festival for the first time in 53 years, said Kristin Christenson, recreation superintendent for the Parks and Recreation Department.
The festival was scheduled to be held Friday through Sunday (Sept. 7-9). However, it now will be held on Sunday and Monday (Sept. 9-10).
The Lions Club Run for Sight event, which had been scheduled for Saturday morning, has been postponed. A makeup date has yet to be determined.
The changes were made because of the inclement weather predicted to hit the area tonight and continue through Sunday morning, Christenson said.
“We will be a little lighter this year on parade participants and vendors, but we still feel like we are putting on a quality event with plenty to do,” she said. “We are hoping Eureka rallies around us and enjoys it.”
Eureka Days is primarily held in the Legion and Lions parks, on Bald Hill Road, with the parade going down Central Avenue in Old Town.
The two-day event is scheduled to run from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday and 5-10 p.m. Monday.
One of the biggest changes in the weather-adjusted schedule is that the parade will be at 2 p.m. Sunday. It was originally slated for 10 a.m. Saturday.
The route will follow the traditional path, starting behind Eureka United Methodist Church, 215 North Central Ave., traveling down Central Avenue before turning right onto Dreyer Avenue and going into Lions Park and Legion Park via Bald Hill Road.
Organizers had planned to tweak the parade route to continue down Central Avenue to Hwy. 109, with large vehicles and floats crossing the highway to enter the parking lot at the Legends shopping center. Those walking in the parade were going to enter the “spur,” 394 South Central Ave., and proceed into the parks.
However, those plans were scrapped.
“We thought that (using the traditional route) was best because the parade will be happening during the event and we wanted as much exposure to that as possible,” Christenson said.
Sunday will still feature carnival rides in the community center parking lot in Legion Park from noon to 10 p.m., and the Artisan Fair in Legion Park and Eureka Farmers Marker in Lions Park will run from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The Kid’s Korner will be open from 4-7 p.m. Sunday in Lions Park, and the new Chicken Wing Eating Contest, which had been set for Saturday, now will be held from 5-6 p.m. Sunday at the Beer Garden. The winner will receive the Barklage Award, named in honor of Eureka Parks Recreation supervisor Ted Barklage, who died Aug. 1 from congenital heart disease at age 34.
Fireworks will remain part of Eureka Days with the display slated to start at 9 p.m. Sunday in Legion Park.
The $1 Carnival Ride Day has been shifted to Monday, and as of today (Sept. 6), organizers were still trying to schedule a musical for the last evening of the event, Christenson said.
Because of the condensed time frame, the city will look to reschedule performances by the Well Hungarians band, which was set to play Friday night, and musician Barb Soetebier, who was scheduled to play Saturday afternoon, for different city events.
Eureka Days still will feature performances by Breakdown Shakedown, which will now play from 7-10 p.m. Sunday on the main stage instead of Saturday, and Steve Woolley will perform as previously scheduled from 1-4 p.m. Sunday. Both acts will be on the main stage.
Eureka Days will have vendors in Lions Park on Sunday, but the event will no longer feature food trucks.
Eureka Days schedule
Date: Sunday, Sept. 9
Time: Noon to 10 p.m.
Attractions:
Carnival rides, noon to 10 p.m., Community Center parking lot
Bar and Beer Garden, noon to 10 p.m., Legion Park
Vendors, noon to 10 p.m., Lions Park parking lot
Artisan Fair, noon to 6 p.m., Legion Park parking lot
Eureka Famers Market, noon to 6 p.m., Lions Park
Steven Woolley, 1-4 p.m., Main stage
Eureka Days Parade, 2 p.m., Central Avenue
Kids’ Korner, 4-7 p.m., Lions Park tennis court
Parking shuttles, 5-11 p.m., at Eureka High School and Legend Corporate Shopping Center
National Anthem/Awards, 6:30 p.m., Main stage
American Legion O’Brien Post No. 177 Color Guard flag ceremony, 6:30 p.m., Main stage
Breakdown Shakedown, 7-10 p.m., Main stage
Fireworks, 9 p.m., Legion Park
Date: Monday, Sept. 10
Time: 5-10 p.m.
Attractions:
$1 Carnival Ride Day, 5-10 p.m., Community Center parking lot
Bar and Beer Garden, 5-10 p.m., Legion Park
Vendors, 5-10 p.m., Lions Park parking lot
Live music, 6-9 p.m., Main stage