LOCAL

Bigheart Day is this weekend

Robert Smith
Pawhuska Journal-Capital

BARNSDALL – Final preparations are being made for Bigheart Day, the annual Memorial Day weekend celebration of the Barnsdall community. Events are scheduled to begin on Friday, May 26 and the main day of downtown activity will be Saturday, May 27.

The Barnsdall Chamber of Commerce is the overall sponsor, and has carried out the planning for Bigheart Day. The celebration is a classic, small-town festival with plenty of food and fun for families.

A golf tournament at 8 a.m. Friday at the Mohawk Park Golf Course is the first item on the schedule for Friday. An Alumni 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday, and a Street Dance at Main and Fourth is planned for 8 p.m. that evening.

Saturday events are to begin at 7 a.m. with a children’s fishing derby at Birch Lake at 7 a.m. A Bigheart Breakfast is to be held at the Assembly of God from 8-10 a.m.

Games and contests are scheduled for downtown on Saturday morning. The Turtle Race and Frog Jump are to be at the intersection of Highway 11 and Main Street at 9:30 a.m., and children’s games with money prizes are planned for 11 a.m. on the Community Center Lawn.

A Barnsdall High School “come and go” Reunion is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A key change this year in the event lineup is the move of the Bigheart Day Parade from morning to afternoon. The parade is to be at 2 p.m. Saturday. For questions about the parade, contact Jason Byers at 918-629-5315.

Afternoon and evening events after the parade include alumni softball games at the high school softball field from 4-6 p.m., and a cornhole tournament and fish fry on the Community Center Lawn from 7-9 p.m. Grand finale fireworks are to be at 9:30 p.m.

On Monday, May 29, American Legion Post 227 will hold a Memorial Day Service at 10 a.m. at Ethel Reece West Cemetery.

Contact the Barnsdall Chamber of Commerce via email at barnsdallCOC@gmail.com, or call event coordinators for assistance. You can reach Steve Overacker at 918-697-8923, Jason Byers at 918-629-5315, or Melissa Pearson at 918-397-4652.