Brighton news

The 112th annual Whoopee Day Celebration in Brighton was held the weekend of June 17-19. It was a very nice weekend and everyone had fun celebrating. According to early history, when the first street in Brighton was paved over one hundred years ago, a street dance and potluck were held because “Whoopee, we have a paved street!” and thus the tradition of Whoopee Days began.

Friday evening, the Bill Riley talent show was held with over 25 entries in the youth and adult divisions. Saturday started off early at 7 a.m. with a Whoopee Walk around town and a tractor ride to Lake Darling and back while the Lions Club served breakfast to all. The Whoopee parade took place at 10 a.m. with many different and fun entries. Thank you to the Richland American Legion for the color guard leading the parade. Ray Atikins served as Grand Marshal of the parade for his many yearsv in military, law enforcement, and community service. Homemade mini whoopee pies were handed out to all the parade participants as a thank you.

After the colorful parade, the Lions Club served lunch in the park and the children were treated to a canine demonstration by the Washington County Sheriff’s department. During the day, vendors lined the main street with a variety of items for sale.

The yearly mud run was a fun time that took place at the ballpark in the afternoon. The run featured all-terrain vehicles, and various classes of trucks for a competition of the fastest time through the mud track. Thank you to the Brighton Fire Department for keeping the track wet and to Leichty Construction for donating equipment to keep the track in shape. The Brighton Chamber served food and snacks at the food shack to all who were there watching.

The Homecoming/Alumni Tea was held in the Brighton community room at 1 p.m. for any and all former alumni or Brighton residents who came back to visit and share their stories. Wendy and David Lynn, and their daughter, gave a program about their small animal farm, Elevated Animals/Petting Farm, east of Brighton. They told about a variety of animals, including fainting goats, ferrets, and iguanas, to name a few of the animals they have to show if you tour their farm.

At 4 p.m. the great “Whoopee Pie Eating Contest” took place. The local Wooden Spoon Bakery and Café made the giant whoopee pies for the contestants to try to eat the fastest without using their hands. This was a fun event to watch, as well as to eat!

Saturday evening, the Aces & Eight’s band performed on the stage in the park, sponsored by the Brighton Chamber of Commerce. Commander’s Bar hosted the annual horseshoe pitching contest, followed by a street dance to the Brass Pear band.

Sunday morning, a wonderful worship service was held in the park. It included various churches from the area.

All in all, it was a great weekend of fun and fellowship. We would like to give a special thank you to all of our sponsors for their generous donations and to the businesses who donated gifts for the contests and drawings. You all truly help make our celebration so great.