Whoopee Days celebration lives on

Plastic sacks of candy sit atop tractor seats, as riders get ready for Brighton’s Whoopee Days parade. Numerous tractors line the streets surrounding the craft and flea market, a new addition to Whoopee Days, taking the place of the carnival.

“It’s early, but there’s been a lot of people so far,” said Bev Howe, owner of Stitches and a vendor at the craft show. Howe noted that Fridays foot traffic was slow; however, she anticipated an increase over the course of the weekend.

Howe lives in Columbus Junction and is a first-timer at this year’s weekend-long celebration.

Attendees from 8-months-old to 88-years-old lined the parade route in folding chairs, making it out to be the most popular event.

Fire and police sirens cued the start of the Whoopee Day Parade, silencing the complaints of impatient children waiting for candy to fill their empty sacks. A flag truck was the first float attendees saw, followed by Brighton Fire Department and Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Local businesses as well as event promotions walked in the parade, along with various community members closing it out.

Disputes about how many years the mud run has been in operation could be heard against the revving of ATV and truck engines at the Whoopee Days Mud Run.

“I was probably 12 or 14 when I started helping out,” said Henry Mineart, now 48. “So that’s how long we’ve been doing it. Out of Brighton, we’ve helped Salem, Richland, Hedrick and Washington start mud runs. So we’ve kind of branched out and helped other people.”

Mineart is one of the main organizers of the annual Mud Run, where trucks, ATVs and four-wheelers race down a 200-foot mud pit.

Fourteen classes of vehicles can compete, ranging from snowmobiles, motorcycles and an outlaw class, where “anything goes.”

“There’s a lot of rivalries between these trucks,” Mineart said. “And they’re all friendly, they help each other out, but it’s bragging rights.”

The mud run drew a sizable crowd, with an estimated 100 vehicles registered to run; however, it’s a decrease from previous years, where Mineart said they’ve seen up to 250 vehicles registered.

Spectators knew what draws a crowd to the mud run/

It’s the “mud, heat, beer and friends,” emphasizing “there’s good people in Brighton, Iowa,” further convincing them to spend the day watching vehicles race.

Last year’s Whoopee Days annual event being canceled had a large effect on the community of Brighton, Mineart said.

“This is the main fundraiser for the Chamber, so financially it hurt because the Chamber does stuff for the community all yearlong so this funds a lot of that,” Mineart said. “It did hurt.”