Rat rods return to St. Maries this weekend.
The third annual Rattitude Rod Rumble is Saturday, June 21, but the fun starts Friday evening (June 20) with a cruise through town, beginning at 6 p.m. A drive-in movie, Smokey and the Bandit, will be shown at dark.
This crew of rat rod enthusiasts have helped organize the third annual Rattitude Rod Rumble, which is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at Aqua Park. There will be a cruise and drive-in movie shown Friday night and there will also be burnouts Saturday evening. Pictured here from left to right is Chuck and Carol Ryan, Denny Dunn, Sean Ryan and Brad Michael, Vanessa, Darren Jr. and Kyler Jackson, Brady, Chase, Amanda and Brad Beckner, and Jodie and Darren Jackson Sr.
Rat rods will line up at the Federal Building for the cruise at 5:30 p.m. The cars will travel down 6th Street and then along Main Avenue so the public can catch a view.
the movie is open to the public to drive in or walk in, and donations are suggested to help pay for the cost. It will be shown on the ball fields at the city park, and cars may start to arrive at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturcday, the Rattitude Rod Rumble is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Aqua Park. Organizer Darren Jackson Jr. said he does not know how many cars to expect but said last year the show had 53 entries, which more than doubled the number at the inaugural show. Admission to the show is free.
Saturday’s show will be capped off with burnouts beginning at 5 p.m. where Railroad Ave. intersects with Aqua Park at the landing owned by Jack Buell.
The countdown has officially begun to the 2014 Rattitude Rod Rumble.
It’s all taking place this Friday and Saturday, June 20 and 21 in downtown St. Maries. We’ll have a full schedule posted no later than Thursday — but to be sure, it will be jam-packed with fun and unique events for adults and children alike.
Mike Stroh, Cathy Britschgi and Aysan Tyrrell walk through a lineup of rat rods during the 2013 show.
Not sure what to expect? Read about the event and learn more about how and why it was created here. I think you’ll discover pretty quickly that this isn’t your average car show. It’s way cooler.
Another thing you’ll learn, it’s one in a series of kickoff events to our small-town summer.
Be sure to stick around St. Maries for a lot more unique events, like our snowmobile races (yep, you read that right). Every July our local snowmobile club, the St. Joe Snowriders, puts together a summer run, the Summer Sucks Grass Drags. Part philanthropic event, part memorial ride, all fun, the Summer Sucks Grass Drags are something you need to see to appreciate.
Austin Schiermeister, racer #101, gains the lead heading down the track at the annual grass drags July 2013. The snowmobiles are raced in a hay field adjacent to Lumberjack Lane just outside St. Maries.
Harrison’s Annual Pig-Out-in-the-Park and Craft and Trade Fair is June 14. This is a big fundraiser for the Harrison Chamber of Commerce. All profits from the event will help pay for the Fourth of July fireworks, flowers for the park and the weekly concerts in the park.
Shelley Low and Joe Cornell stand near the sign advertising the Pig in the Park slated for Saturday. The money raised at the barbecue dinner will help pay for the annual fireworks display over the southern end of Coeur d’Alene Lake at Harrison.
The craft and trade show is from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The meal will be served at 11:30 a.m. and continues until everyone is full or they run out of meat. If there is any leftover, it will be available for bulk sale around 3 p.m.
Robb Boatsman and Rampage will provide live music in the park from 2 to 5 p.m.
Joe Cornell puts the pig in the barbecue and it cooks slowly for 24 hours before the dinner is served. He designed the barbecue so it can be pulled behind his truck to the park.
In addition to the slow-cooked pork, the meal will include Scheffelmaier smoked turkey, Shelley Low’s famous baked beans, potato salad, corn bread, dessert and a beverage. The cost is $10 for adults and $7 for children 16 and younger. A beer garden will also be available for people 21 and older.
You don’t always need a beach or an unbrella to squeeze reading in during the summer. You just need your local library.
Each summer local libraries pack the calendar with events and activities for children and young adults to keep them reading throughout the summer months.
The St. Maries Public Library will offer a summer of scientific wonder and will offer two weekly sessions every Tuesday from June 24 to July 29. Story hour for three, four and five year olds will be at 10 a.m., and firth through fifth graders will gather at 11 a.m.
The annual Family Night festivities will feature Radical Rick the Extreme Scientist on July 31.
The Plummer Public Library will host a summer read-a-thin from June 12 through August 7. The summer kickoff event, which includes an activity day, begins at 1 p.m. June 12 at the library. The event is open to all ages. Patrons who wish to participate should pre-register by today, June 10.
The Tri-Community Library in Fernwood will feature “Music with Miriam” each Monday from June 30 through July 29.
The Tensed-DeSmet Library will also sponsor a read-a-thin for the month of July. Record sheets are available at the library, and they must be turned in no later than July 31.
When you consider the fact that our town has a population of just around 2,400, the fact that our summers are filled with events the caliber of what you might find in a larger town speaks to the hard-working nature of St. Maries.
It makes what we do pack even more of a punch.
Nearly every weekend offers some sort of family-friendly activity, and nearly every activity is put together by volunteers. Even better – nearly every event offers something different from the one before. This is significant not just for the local residents but also for people exploring from out of town.
Don’t believe me? Just check out our lineup this summer, which was kicked off last weekend with the Race the Joe! jet boat championships. A whopping 26 teams — one of which traveled from New Zealand — raced along the 25-mile stretch from St. Maries to Calder and back while thousands of spectators lined the banks of the St. Joe River to watch the boats speed by.
The driver and navigator of FX19 Know Idea race up the river at the 2014 Race the Joe! jet boat competition.
This weekend, June 7 and 8, marks the fourth annual St. Joe River Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K. More than 400 runners — some coming from as far away as Georgia, North Carolina, New York and Texas — will participate in the annual event.
Two weekends after that, the third annual Rattitude Rod Rumble will cruise through downtown St. Maries, offering an eclectic take on car shows.
Later in the summer, St. Maries will put art front and center in its always-anticipated smART festival. The Benewah County Fair punctuates the summer celebrations August 14-17 when local youth get to showcase their summer projects at the Benewah Community Fairgrounds.
The Paul Bunyan Days fireworks show is funded entirely by donations and draws thousands of visitors to the city every year.
And our summer ends with a bang — literally — at the Paul Bunyan Days celebration over Labor Day weekend when St. Maries celebrates with a carnival, a parade, logging competitions, water events and the biggest and best fireworks display in the area.
Whether you live here, like to travel here or are hoping to, just about any weekend this summer will provide you with an experience that will make you glad you did.
