Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
An egg in hand will be twice as precious again in Tekoa Saturday as the 87th annual Slippery Gulch Days commences.
The famed Crosby Street-stretching egg toss, parade, dance and fireworks show will be joined by new events and a list of perennial happenings at this year’s town celebration.
A “Whistle Stop Revue” at Empire Theater will entertain with a musical journey across the United States in a 3 p.m. performance.
The show will bring back a former old Slippery Gulch tradition.
A Friday performance at 6 p.m. will informally kick off the main slate of events. Later Friday, at 9 p.m. a free, over-21 dance starts at the Brotherton Building, with D.J. Donovan Chase, co-owner of C&D’s Bar and Grill.
Saturday, the Chamber of Commerce breakfast will be in production from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the high school with pancakes, German sausage, eggs and cinnamon rolls.
“I’ll challenge anybody in this county to make a better breakfast,” said Tekoa Mayor John Jaeger. “I’ll go further than that. As far north as you want to go.”
At 7:30 a.m. check-in begins at the football field for a new event, the “Firecracker Five,” a five-mile road and gravel bike race. At 8 a.m. the Slippery Gulch Days fun run starts with five mile and two-mile courses.
The kids parade begins at 10:30 a.m. followed by the main parade at 11 a.m.
Longtime announcer Chris Smith will again be on the microphone.
Featured in the parade will be grand marshals Monte and Cheryl Morgan, along with Tekoa veterans Jerome Squibb (Army National Guard, Korean War) and John Giudice (Army, World War II).
The parade also will include a group from the 106th Henkle Family Reunion, a Tekoa pioneer namesake.
The annual egg toss event follows, with two-person teams stretching up and down Crosby Street.
At 1 p.m. the Shriner’s Band will be at the Empire Theater.
“They are good. They are fun,” Jaeger said.
Just down from the parade route, kids games begin in the lower park at 1:30 p.m., same for the duck race in Hangman Creek as well as the 3-on-3 basketball tournament–which will have a second court in use this year, a temporary one in the parking lot of Melton’s Metal Fabrication.
A second performance of the Whistle Stop Revue at Empire Theater will be at 3 p.m.
A softball game and barbecue served by the Little Kids Wrestlers group follows at 5 p.m. at the softball field.
“It’s mainly adults that should know better than to play but do anyway,” said Slippery Gulch Committee member Melinda Wilkins.
At 9 p.m. Slippery Gulch Days favorite the Kelly Hughes Band will again play at the Brotherton Building for a $10 admission, age 21-over. The group’s energetic country and rock originated at Hughes’ former bar in Stateline, Idaho.
“He’s definitely a performer, a dance band, a crowd-pleaser,” said Chase.
Fireworks launch at 10 p.m., from the football field.
“It’s a full day,” said Wilkins.
Leading up to the weekend events, Thursday, at 5 p.m. will be the Royal Tea at Tekoa Community Church for little princesses. The Tekoa high school royalty hosts the event each year, but with not enough girls in the class of 2016, the committee has tapped alumni royalty to step in. At the tea, which costs $10 for each child, a drawing will reveal four names, who will get to ride on the Tekoa town float in the main parade.
“It will be just the little girls this year,” said Wilkins.
After the egg toss Saturday, prizes will be given to fishing derby winners. Junior anglers play their skills along Hangman Creek beginning June 13. Fishing zone extends from the state line to the Fairbanks road intersection along Highway 27 north of Tekoa.
Other events for Slippery Gulch Days include a game night for teenagers age 13-18 at the Tekoa Grade School 7 p.m. Friday. A golf scramble at 11 a.m. Sunday concludes the weekend.
To pre-register for events, go to Slipperygulch.com. Although no event requires pre-registration, in some cases the cost is higher to register at the event.
“We’ve got lots of good stuff going on,” said Jaeger.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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