Have you ever been to St. Maries for the Paul Bunyan Days? If not, it is an event you won’t want to miss! Below is a summary of the events, guaranteed to be something for everyone.
Friday, August 31
Noon Community Booths and Blue Ox Tavern open.
5 p.m. Pet and Doll Parade Registration at the Grub Box parking lot at 8th and Center Avenue. Carnival Opens.
5:30 p.m. Pet and Doll Parade Begins: Children 3 to 12 years old may dress up their favorite doll, stuff animal or living pet and join the parade. First second and third place prizes will be awarded.
6 p.m. Holy Board registration at the Soccer field.
7 p.m. Holy Board starts at the soccer field.
6 to 10 p.m. Dirty Buckle Band onstage at city park.
Saturday, September 1
8 a.m. Karen Ebert Memorial 5K Run Run/Walk Registration at the St. Maries High School gym parking lot.
9 a.m. Fun run/walk begins.
9:30 a.m. Junior Olympics Registration. Free to all children 12 years and younger at the football field in city park.
10 a.m. Junior Olympics begins.
11 a.m. Register for adult/youth water events at the city pool. Ages 13 to 17 years old are also welcome to participate, but a parent must be present for registration and competition.
Noon Inland Northwest Antique Snowmobile show at the soccer field in city park, Water Events begin, and St. Maries Community Band on stage at city park.
1 p.m. St. Maries Community Choir on stage at city park.
2 p.m. Civil War Reenactment at Mullan Trail Park by the Benewah County Fairgrounds.
3 to 7 p.m. The Ben Ferris Band on stage at city park.
5 p.m. Weigh-In for Tug of War: 1,500 pounds maximum co-ed teams. On the football field pending entries.
6 p.m. Tug of War begins
7 p.m. Holy Board Finals
8 p.m. Karaoke on stage at city park.
Mainstream Square Dance at the Eagles Lodge.
8 to 12 p.m. Four on the Floor at the Blue Ox.
9 p.m. Rose’s Fireworks Show featuring low aerial fireworks. Music provided before show. St. Joe Valley Car
Club Dance: Everyone 21 years and older is invited to the Cormana building in city park to have some fun and dance the night away. Music provided by the King Pins. Tickets cost $5 at the door.
Sunday, September 2
7 a.m. to 12:30 Community Breakfast: This is a Benewah County Humane Society fundraiser. Proceeds benefit the animals. The menu includes pancakes, scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, milk, juice and coffee. The meal is served at the Eagles Lodge on Main Avenue.
All Day Carnival, booths, Blue Ox. All the fun continues at city park.
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Valley Piecemakers Quilt Show: The annual show sponsored by the local club will be at the Heyburn Elementary School gym at 1404 Main Ave.
10 a.m. Blue Ox opens and helicopter rides are available.
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Spare Parts on stage at city park.
Noon Paul Bunyan Auction: If you want a bargain and like auctions you will love this one. Great items donated by local merchants and loads of logs will be auctioned at the football field in city park.
Registration for Children’s Pool Events and Registration for Logging Events at the football field in city park.
1 p.m. Children’s Pool Events: Ages 6-12 years old may participate. Competition includes tube races and parent-child raft races. Parents must be present for registration and competition.
2 p.m. Civil War Reenactment at Mullan Trail Park next to the fairgrounds.
4 to 7 p.m. Billy’s Steele Cadillac on stage in city park
5 p.m. Joy Night Celebration: Joy Night at the First Baptist Church on Second Street. Worship service with a potluck to follow. Everyone welcome. Fireworks pre-show begins.
7 p.m. Shooting Star Dancers: Coeur d’Alene Tribal Youth dancers.
9 p.m. Fireworks Display: Steaming Toward the Centennial is this year’s theme for the show. On the soccer field at city park.
After the Fireworks Billy’s Steele Cadillac on stage in the city park and Four on the Floor will perform at the Blue Ox.
Monday, September 3
8 to 9:30 a.m. Registration for the parade: Register at Ken’s Body Shop at the west end of town.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Valley Piecemakers Quilt Show: The winner of the annual raffle quilt will be chosen at 3 p.m. at Heyburn Elementary gym.
10 a.m. Here comes the Parade: Grab a folding chair and line up along Main Avenue. No parking on either side of Main Avenue from 7th to 11th Streets. Strictly enforced. Helicopter Rides
Noon to Close Carnival, Booths, Blue Ox
Noon Registration for Logging Events: Sign up at the softball field in the city park. Amateurs only.
Kids Events on the main stage at city park for 2 to 5 year-olds.
1 p.m. Logging Events: It’s show-down time. Come cheer these loggers and loggerettes on as they compete in various activities.
2 p.m. Duck Races at the river.
There is so much happening in St. Maries this weekend it’s difficult to know what to take in. Your best bet is to take it all in to guarantee you miss out on any of the great weekend events is serving up.
Like we said yesterday, Friday is the Pet and Doll Parade and Saturday is chock full of music, logging events, games, and the Civil War Reenactment at Mullan Trail Park at the west end of town, and finishes off with the Car Club Dance and Rose’s Fireworks Show at City Park.
Sunday morning be sure to start your day off with the Community Breakfast sponsored by the Benewah County Humane Society at the Eagles Lodge.
More than 100 quilts will be displayed at the Valley Piecemaker’s Quilt Show in the Heyburn Elementary gym from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If you want a bargain and like auctions you will love the Paul Bunyan Auction at soccer field in the city park. It begins at noon and it a great place for bargain and a great way to support the Paul Bunyan Days Fireworks.
So the fireworks show is likely the biggest display you will ever see, and is certainly one of the best around these parts. The best part about it is that you are nestled among hundreds, make that thousands of spectators in City Park, with the boom of the rockets echoing off the mountains surrounding this beautiful St. Joe Valley.
The weatherman is predicting clear skies through the weekend.
Make your way to St. Maries this weekend and see how the people of this terrific town celebrate!
St. Maries’ own Paul Bunyan Days, the biggest little weekend in Idaho is nearly here and there’s something for everyone!
The festivities start Friday with the opening of booths and Blue Ox beer garden at noon, and the carnival rides open at 5 p.m.
Registration for the Pet and Doll Parade for children three to 12 years old is at 5 p.m. Friday. This will be the first year for the Holy Board tournament which open to everyone.
The Dirty Buckle Band will perform on stage at City Park beginning at 6 p.m. and Four on the Floor will be playing in the blue ox from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Saturday morning starts with the Karen Ebert Memorial 5K Run/Walk. Registration is at 8 a.m. at the high school parking lot. You can preregister or register the morning of the event.
The kids won’t want to miss the Junior Olympics. The event is free for children 12 years old and younger at the soccer field in City Park. Register at 9:30 a.m. and the events begin at 10 a.m.
Registration for the water events at the city pool begins at 11 a.m. Kids 13 to 17 years old are also welcome to participate, but a parent must be present for registration and competition.
The St. Maries Community Choir performs on stage at city park at 1 p.m.
Spectators will need to head to the west end of town for the Civil War Reenactment at Mullan Trail Park near the Benewah County Fairgrounds.
The Ben Ferris Band on stage from 3 to 7 p.m.
Teams for the Tug of War will step on the scales at 5 p.m. for the Weigh-In for Tug of War at 5 p.m. There is a 1,500 pounds maximum for the co-ed teams. The
Tug of War begin at 6 p.m. and the Holy Board Finals are 7 p.m.
As the sun sets you can take the stage for karaoke in city park.
Mainstream Square Dance will be at the Eagles Lodge at 8 p.m. and Four on the Floor returns to the Blue Ox.
The highlight of the evening will be Rose’s Fireworks Show which features low aerial fireworks.
Everyone 21 years and older is invited to the Cormana Building in city park to have some fun and dance the night away. Music provided by the Fabulous Kingpins. Tickets cost $5 at the door.
And the list goes on. What a great weekend to be in St. Maries!
Have you noticed the days are growing noticeably shorter and area teachers are preparing to their return to the classroom? Both are signs summer is quickly drawing to a close.
Maybe a good way to postpone the inevitable end of summer is a weekend camping trip to one of our area’s many beautiful campsites.
Whether you enjoy hiking or biking, swimming or fishing, there is something for everyone camping at area lakes or along the St. Joe River.
Heyburn State Park boasts some beautiful campgrounds and plenty of activities to for the entire family. It’s also close enough to stores and restaurants, that if you forget something, it can be found with a quick trip to town. Most of the sites are easily accessed from State 5. For more information you can visit their website.
http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/heyburn.aspx
If you’re more interested more remote or rustic campsites, check out the campgrounds up the St. Joe River. All of the campsites are open. The St. Joe Campground located just 10 miles from St. Maries.
You can access Forest Service maps and information at http://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/ipnf/recreation.
Have you been up the river lately? The drive from St. Maries to Calder is breathtaking.
It’s a short, scenic drive so be certain to take your time stop and take in some of the points of interest along the way.
To get to the St. Joe River Road head north from St. Maries on Hwy 3 about a half mile, turning onto FS50 heading past the high school.
At around the two-mile mark you’ll see Bel’s Lake to your right and another mile and a half is the wild rice fields. Elk, moose, deer and geese are plentiful. In the spring the swans and an occasional flock fresh-water pelican will be seen in the shallow waters.
At the five-mile mark is Turtle Lake, a popular fishing hole for area bass fishermen.
The Omega Gospel Hall on the edge of the meadow near the 6 mile marker has been a local landmark since the Swiss first settled the valley more than 100 years ago.
The first of many campgrounds on the St. Joe River Road is the Shadowy St. Joe Camp Ground at the 10 mile mark. It is maintained and operated by the Forest Service
Dirt roads split from the highway at Rochat Creek, Wittenburg Draw and St. Joe City and several other points along the highway.
St. Joe City is the highest navigable point conventional boats traveling from Coeur d’Alene can reach. There is public river access at Scott Park on the north side of the river near the old logging town.
To your left at the 15 mile marker is Falls Creek with the turnout just ahead on the right.
The former Milwaukee Railroad bridge is to the right and is a good place to take walk. Fish can be seen in the clear water below the bridge. At the east end of the bridge there is an unimproved campground to the right.
At the 18 mile mark is the Big Eddy Resort which offers dining and spirits with a view of the river.
For the next several miles be sure to watch the slopes of the hills across the river for wildlife.
In the pullout at the 23 mile marker is a sign with detailed fishing regulations.
You’ll find the little town of Calder at the next turn off. Calder features a general store, post office and emergency services. The Calder school is the large white building above the town. There is access to the river at Calder, a popular pull starting point and finishing point for rafters and fishermen in smaller -boats.
If you don’t already have plans for the weekend, perhaps a visit to St. Maries and a drive to Calder along the beautiful St. Joe River would be just the ticket to enjoy the best Idaho has to offer.
