WARDEN — The town of Warden will gather this weekend at Volunteer Park for its annual Warden Community Days celebration. 

The event used to be held on Labor Day itself, but the last few years it’s been a three-day event, said Renay Jorgensen, one of seven or eight volunteers who organize Community Days. 

Saturday morning starts the festivities with a car show. 

“It’s $25 to enter a car, and it’s open to the public from 11 to 2,” Jorgensen said. “Judging for the car show starts exactly at 11. We usually announce winners about 11:30 as long as the judges don't take too long.” 

Last year’s show drew about 45 cars and tractors, she added. The Warden Community Days Committee will serve hamburgers and french fries for lunch, and the Warden Future Farmers of America trap team will supply cold beverages. 

The community dinner will be held Sunday evening, Jorgensen said, sponsored by Agri-Beef, Simplot and Coca-Cola. 

“Everybody who comes to the park between the hours of 5:30 and 7:30 gets a free hamburger and fries,” she said. “That’s my favorite event. We have a band; they’ll play at both the car show and the community dinner. So, we get some entertainment and dinner and fellowship. It’s great.” 

The bulk of the fun happens Monday, starting with the Firemen’s Breakfast at the park at 6:30 a.m. and a parade at 11, going down Ash Street, across Sixth Street and back up Main Street. Grand Marshals will be Mayor Rosaelia Martinez and her husband Mario, Jorgensen said. There are 30-40 spots in the parade reserved, she said, more than usual because it’s an election year. 

“We have a band that walks and plays in front of the dancing horses,” Jorgensen said. “Last year was the first year we had that, and everybody loved it. Rancho Grande is the band we got this year. It’s kind of like a brass band … good music and a fast tempo that horses can dance to really well. Then we have the Seattle Cossacks, they will also be in the parade.” 

The Cossacks, a motorcycle drill team frequently appears at local festivals in the Basin, will perform later at the park as well, she said. 

“They like to talk to the kids about motorcycle safety and things like that,” she said. 

The Reptile Man will bring his scaly menagerie from Monroe, on the west side, and juggler Matt Henry, the Trained Human, will perform at the park as well. 

There will be varied entertainment, including volleyball and beanbag tournaments all day.  

No community celebration is complete without lots of food vendors. Queen of All Saints Catholic Church will serve Mexican food and Blacky’s Barbecue will be there as well. 

“Our own committee also has a hamburger and french fry booth to raise money to replenish what we’ve spent over the year,” Jorgensen said. “All of our events and everything are sponsored by local businesses. We don’t get grants or anything.” 

In years past, Warden Community Days included a float down Lind Coulee, but Jorgensen said that has gone by the wayside. 

“That got to be quite dangerous, and we had to have special insurance,” she said. “Everybody wants to bring it back, but that’s definitely for somebody who has more energy than I do.” 

    Warden Community Days volunteers prepare and serve food to the community in Volunteer Park last year. This year’s event begins Saturday.
  

    Band H2A’s dancing horses clop their way down the street during the 2023 Warden Community Days parade.