Crooked Creek Days nails theme

WINFIELD — With the theme “Build it, They Will Come,” the Winfield community and Crooked Creek Days Committee built yet another year of wholesome family fun, and with beautiful weather, Friday and Saturday, the crowds came.

Cable-spool tables filled with building blocks and a toddler play area with cardboard building bricks on North Locust Street, along with activities and meals that built community togetherness drove home the theme of this year’s Crooked Creek Days.

Festivities kicked off Friday with a family friend bags tournament and street dance and continued Saturday with a fun run, breakfast, vendor fair, and parade.

The Windfield-Mt. Union’s Big Red Pride connected families with the school as school staff took turns subjecting themselves to the perils of a dunk tank as part of a booster club fundraiser.

For $1 kids, and some adults, got three chances to hit a small target and dunk a volunteer.

Elementary Principal Karinda Wahls attracted a large line of people.

“We decided if they pay $5 they can throw their three balls and then if they don’t get it, they are guaranteed that they can push the button and dunk them,” one of the event organizers Shawnna McCabe explained.

Some of the other dunkees included Winfield Mayor Willie Bender, the new High School Principal Gaige Gill, and Physical Education Teacher and Coach Emily Dray.

The family friend weekend included other simple, smile-evoking events such as a frog jumping contests, a bicycle race, and a bubbling blowing contest.

Hylo Soike, a 7-year-old second grade student at WMU, thoroughly enjoyed the bicycle races outside of the fire station.

After a “Ready, Set, Go,” Soike took off one his bright green bike to make three laps around the fires station.

Lap one, he breezed right one past. Lap two, he began breathing a little heavier, but continued to leave his competition in the dust.

Despite going around corners without hands on his handlebars, Soike said that the third lap had him pushing hard to finish.

“I was shaking,” he said after he came across the finish line the last time and nabbed first place.

According to City Clerk and Crooked Creek Days Committee member Lisa Rees, prizes for the first three bike ride winners encouraged families to come together.

“They each won prize cups for activities at various locations,” she said. “One was a trampoline park pass, another was for memory boxes, and the other was for a stay at a hotel with a pool.”

Younger kids, or kids that did not have their bikes with them enjoyed big-wheel races and those winners received checkered flags and coupons for a free ice cream.

Those seeking asylum from the hot summer sun took to indoor activities throughout Saturday afternoon.

The VFW opened their doors for the traditional Lion’s Club Cake Walk fundraiser, in which participants could be overheard exchanging silly competitive quips as they walked in circles to simple folks songs played on a banjo in hopes of landing on the winning number to snag the cake of their dreams.

Talented kids performed in the Bill Riley Talent Show at the WMU small gym.

Ben and Gabe Hemsworth took home first place in the Senior category followed by Kayla Mertens and Kaelyn Townsley. Aria Lane earned first place for the Sprouts category followed by Kara Hoover and Jersey Castillo.

W.A.G.G. offered another air conditioned activity as the Open Bible Activity Center with a family friendly movie at cups of fresh fruit.

By Saturday evening, as the ferocity of the afternoon sun began to dissipate, Crooked Creek Days attendees enjoyed a light breeze as they gathered on North Locust Street and listened to BYO Brass play and kids enjoyed their prizes from throughout the day.

Unfortunately, the traditional Duck Soup Softball and kickball tournaments were canceled Sunday morning due to weather, but overall the weekend still offered ample opportunity to gather in Winfield and celebrate community.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com