What the Huck... elberry Festival
Jason Perry entertains the crowd at Wallace's Huckleberry Festival on Saturday afternoon. Perry was one of many live musicians to perform during the two-day event.
Photo by JOSH McDONALD
Inflatable suits and mid-air collisions were on the activity menu on the lawn of the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot Museum.
Visitors make their way through the throng of vendors, each peddling their unique wares to the delight of the festival goers on Cedar Street.
Eli Bourgard checks his time as he crosses the finish line of the Huckleberry Festival's 5K Fun Run.
This is Sage, the 2021 Huckleberry Hound winner.
WALLACE — A little bit of smoke wasn’t enough to derail Wallace Huckleberry Festival.
More than 1,000 people made their way into downtown Wallace over the course of the two-day family friendly event and organizers were thrilled with the turnout.
While the event is named after the regional delicacy, the main event of Wallace’s Huckleberry Festival has to be the 5K Fun Run that happens on Saturday morning.
More than 180 racers signed up for the race and in the end Spokane’s Kris Daratha took home the championship with a time of 19:01, closely behind him though was Kellogg-native Eli Bourgard who finished at 19:18.
Thirty-five different vendors lined up along the intersection of Sixth and Cedar streets as live music filled the air.
Speaking of music, the lineup of live artists including Wailing Aaron Jennings, Hardwood Heart, Krista Hojem, John McGee, Jason Perry and Sverwood kept festival goers entertained as they scanned their way through the myriad of handmade goods, delectable food items, specialty drinks, and other interesting services.
Near the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot Museum, bouncy houses and fun inflatable games added a little something for the kids (watching two adults run full-speed into each other while wearing inflatable ball suits will NEVER not be entertaining).
The Huckleberry Hound competition raised more than $3,000 for Shoshone Pet Rescue and was won by Sage — an adorable puppy from Spokane.
The only event that didn’t happen was the Huckleberry Pie Eating Contest, which was canceled due to the rise in COVID cases.
COVID claimed the event last year as one of its many civic casualties, but this year as things have adjusted it was important to do whatever was necessary to try and pull the event off.
And you could tell that that effort was appreciated.
“It was just such an enthusiastic and happy return to semi-normalcy,” said event organizer Emma Stayduhar. “Everybody was really glad to be out there. The vendors were thankful, the musicians were grateful for the opportunity to be out there and do what they do. I also think everybody's just really enthusiastic to be involved in races again, so I think that contributed to creating a great event with a great turnout. I know a lot of people were just extra happy to be among other people again.”
Full race results can be found at www.wallacehuckfest.com.
