What do you do in a small rural town when the harvest is ending? If you are in Milton-Freewater, you have a fun family, “Good old-fashioned country get together" in a peaceful rural setting. The Muddy Frogwater community festival will get your enjoyment engine running.
Pea Festival turns Muddy Frogwater
Back in 1980, Milton-Freewater celebrated their first Muddy Frogwater Festival, and they’ve been hosting one every year since. What started off many years ago as the Pea Festival, continues today as a time and place for safe family fun.
Breakfast, Pretty Baby, and Talent
The 2011 Festival starts on Friday August 19, with the Ambassador Breakfast at the Richard Yantis Memorial Park. Following breakfast, the youngest have the chance to compete for prizes in the Pretty Baby Contest. Make sure you register for this event early.
After the pretty babies have their awards, the "Talent of the Valley" event takes main stage. Pre-screened local artists compete to win this year’s contest. All during the day the concession stands and Kiddie Land are open for those who get hungry, or for young ones who get too tired and too fidgety to sit through all the scheduled events.
Gotta Have a Barbecue
How can you have a country festival without barbecue? Heaven forbid. On Friday night the festival hosts heat up their grills and put on their country classic BBQ serving down home hamburgers and chili dogs with all the trimmings. Saturday night boasts the Rotary BBQ chicken dinner where you can enjoy Kessler’s locally famous barbecue chicken. Be sure to save some room for these fabulous meals while you're taking advantage of the concession stand treats.
Opportunities for Local Talent to Shine
Just as you would expect in a down home celebration, local artists and performers provide the entertainment. Each is selected in advance, and only the best make it to the stage during the festival. Don’t expect posh seating. This is a country celebration. Bring your lawn chair or pull up a bale of hay and enjoy the music and performances.
The town has fun events and activities scheduled throughout the three-day festival, including:
- Dart throwing contest
- Hip-Hop Mania (it involves large rubber balls)
- Corn roast and watermelon eating competition
- Softball tournament
- Friday night concert by local band, Lark Drive
- Square dancers, a parade, and more
Low Cost Family Fun
If you can get to the Northwest in mid August, organizers promise that the Muddy Frogwater Festival, “Is a great, inexpensive way to get out and enjoy the summer weather,” and enjoy some family fun.
True to the nature of a community festival, entry into the festival, parking, and many of the activites are free of charge.
But What's a Muddy Frogwater?
How did such a fun family event get named the Muddy Frogwater Festival? It started back in the late 70’s with high school students and their propensity to make fun of one another. It seems some neighboring town students thought Milton-Freewater was a funny name. Not that town rivalry would occur in eastern Oregon, but in the course of bantering the town’s name back and forth, the young men hit upon Muddy-Frogwater as a sound-alike derision.
One night, the exact date is lost, but it wasn't too long after lampooning the town name, someone painted over the entrance sign to Milton-Freewater – “Muddy-Frogwater.” Although the town repaired the graffiti on the entrance sign, the Milton-Freewater business owners had a secure enough sense of humor to adopt the new name for a frog-jumping event they were about to sponsor. The name stuck and they adopted it for the town's annual festival.
Find Out More About the Festival
The Milton Freewater Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual event. They say, “The Muddy Frogwater Festival is your original home town festival. It is a place where families can come and enjoy a day in the park with minimal expense.”
For information about this fun event, check out the festival website
Or call the Milton-Freewater Chamber of Commerce office at 541-938-5563.
Jon Thompson - Jon Thompson - freelance article and commercial writer with background in education, business, advertising, sales and emergency ...
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