Out of My Mind, May 17, 2012

By Gary DeVon • May 17, 2012 12:03 pm

May Festival just the start

We hope everyone enjoyed last weekend’s May Festival, it sure seemed as if everyone was having a good time. While Oroville’s longest running annual festival is a great time to get together with family and friends, it’s just the start of many spring and summer activities planned in the north end of our valley.
This coming Saturday we have the Run for the Border charity ride which promises upwards of 300 visitors astride their motorcycles descending on Oroville. The ride raises money for causes connected with our servicemen and women and veterans.
June 1 and 2 is Founders Day in Tonasket with the parade and rodeo being the main features, but there’s a lot more to Tonasket’s big annual event. The following weekend, the Conscious Festival will be held at the Okanogan Family Faire grounds, 72 Cayuse Road, 12 miles east of Tonasket. It is a two-day music and cultural festival designed to be a family event. June 16 the North Country Car Club has their annual event at the Tonasket Rodeo Grounds. The Molson Midsummer Festival is also held on June 16 and is full of old fashioned family fun. The Father’s Day Fly-in in Tonasket is also held each June and is a very popular event among pilots, kids and those that want to support Tonasket’s Municipal Airport. It’s June 17 this year.
July of brings more rodeo, this time in Chesaw for their long running Fourth of July Rodeo. Also that day, Oroville lights up their night sky with the Community Fireworks display at Deep Bay Park. The Truck and Tractor Pull at the Tonasket Arena is July 14. Oroville has its Heritage and Airport Day on July 20-21 this year and the Can Am Hyrdoplane Races are back at Oroville’s Deep Bay Park that same weekend.
August starts out with the Bulls and Barrels/Roping Event at the Tonasket Arena Aug. 2 and 3. In Oroville, two very popular events, both in their third year, coincide this summer – the Tumbleweed Film Festival, Aug. 2-4 and the Toast of Oroville Wine Festival, Saturday, Aug. 4. The film festival, featuring short films from around the world, is held at Veranda Beach Resort, Alpine Brewery and Esther Bricques Winery. The wine festival, which hosts Oroville’s local wineries and others from around the region, takes place at Oroville’s “City Park.” August winds up with Chesaw’s Hot August Nights, a local favorite.
Summer comes to a close with the Demolition Derby at the Tonasket Arena on Sept. 2.
Our communities have a lot to offer locals and visitors this summer, and like May Festival, it’s a lot of work for the people who put in the many hours it takes to bring you these events. Let’s do our part by planning on attending as many as we can and patronizing the local businesses and other sponsors who help to bring them to us.