Ainsworth Fun Days returns with fireworks

Ainsworth residents were enthused for the return of Ainsworth Fun Days in 2011, and 2012 figures to be just as exciting. The Fun Days start Friday afternoon with the Ainsworth Fire Department Steak Supper and continue until the fireworks are shot off Saturday night.

Traci Vonnahme helped revive the town celebration last year after it had taken a 15-year hiatus. She was very pleased with the participation last year and thinks it could be even greater this year.

?Last year, we had about 65 entries in our parade,? she said. ?We were surprised to have that many.?

The parade starts at 1:30 p.m. Parade entries will line up on Railroad Street. Lineup starts at 1 p.m.

Vonnahme said she hopes Ainsworth children will cherish the memories they make at the Fun Days, just like she did when she grew up.

?We?re geared toward providing excitement for the kids,? she said. ?We want the kids to have something to remember about growing up in Ainsworth.?

The Fun Days will feature a family kickball tournament at the same time as the Bill Riley Talent Show in the Ainsworth Elementary Gym at 7:30. The kickball tournament Friday night will be for kids, but the kickball tournament Saturday morning at 8 o?clock is an adult co-ed tournament. Vonnahme said that slow pitch softball is the typical sport for large groups of adults, but she wanted to do something different.

?Last year, we had five teams signed up, and this year we have 11 teams,? she said. ?It?s basically your elementary recess kind of kickball played by adults. The games go quickly and people really seem to enjoy it.?

Heather Schultz, who also helped organize Ainsworth Fun Days, said the fireworks to finish the day Saturday are new this year. She said that in years past Ainsworth Fun Days often ended with a street dance.

Vonnahme said another new event is the totem pole contest. Judging for the totem pole contest starts at noon Saturday and the winner will be announced at 12:30 p.m. The totem pole contest consists of giving each participant a board 6 inches by 6 inches and put on a stand 6 feet tall. The participants can decorate the pole in any way they choose.

Another marquee event is the soap box derby, which starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at the corner of Fifth Street and Lincoln.

?The thing that cracks me up is the number of adults who want to do it,? Vonnahme said of the soap box derby. ?You make a box car, just big enough to sit in, and we shoot you down a hill (Fifth Street).?

Schultz said she remembers how excited her brothers would get for the soap box derby when they were young.

?I grew up in Ainsworth, and the Ainsworth Fun Days was the highlight of the summer,? she said.

Michael Powers, a former contestant on the TV show ?American Idol,? will perform Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the Opera House. Vonnahme said that the games, contests and music will make for a fun-filled day.

?The whole day is jampacked,? she said.

Schultz said the Fun Days committee is trying to discourage people from driving throughout town and clogging the streets, so the committee has lined up golf carts which will shuttle people from place to place.

For a full list of the Ainsworth Fun Days events, see page 9 of the 2012 Southeast Iowa Recreation Guide published May 22.