Nestled between Independence Day and Pioneer Day is a weekend of fun and time for gathering in Samaria.  Samaria Days events were held once again this year in Samaria, and featured an auction, food, games, races, and the crowning of new Samaria Royalty.  As always, the weekend was a chance for Samaria residents and friends to come together as a community, catch up, and enjoy some midsummer fun.

Friday night’s main event was the Queen contest, which is composed of an entertaining series of events designed to demonstrate skills and talents in traditional categories of farm/ranch life.  While modified from the earliest versions of the contests, they involved the following, as recounted by Addie Waldron:

“Queen Contest Events.  Farmer’s Address: each girl gave a little introduction about themselves.  They were judged on confidence, clarity, and poise.  Mending Time: They had two minutes to thread the needle and sew a button in the center of the fabric.  Cool of the pigs: each girl had to throw little plastic pigs into a small bucket in 45 seconds.  Whoever got the most in that time placed in the event in that order.  Herding animals: each girl had to use a plastic spoon to scoop up one little animal at a time and run across to put the animals in the pen.  Whoever got the most animals in 45 seconds was placed in that event.  Feeding time: the contestants had two minutes to identify 5 types of grain.  Farmer’s breakfast: the contestants had 1 minute to separate the egg whites and yolks from each other.  They were judged on whether the yolks were unbroken, if the whites and yolks were separated properly, and if the cups were shell-free.  Water the cows: the contestants each had a small blue bucket that they started at, then had to run back and forth with a sponge to the trough of water.  Whoever overflowed their small bucket first won that event.  Forgot your pocket knife: the girls had to use a blue piece of twine to cut a tied red piece of twine, the top three contestants that curl the red twine fastest was placed in that event.”

At the end of the evening, Samantha Schrenk was named the Samaria Queen, Daisy Huckaby was named the Duchess, and Whitnee Waldron the Princess.  May they reign in wisdom over a peaceful land!

Following the Queen contest, the traditional S’more cookout took place around the Fire Pit in the park, and then Kung Fu Panda 4 and popcorn were enjoyed as the sun went down.

Saturday dawned bright and early with the Wild Blue Goose Chase.  In the 1mile event, Payson Price came in first, followed by Hailey Talbot in second, and JD Atkinson in third.  In the 5K run, Bracken Price crossed the finish line first.

To start the morning off right, a traditional pancake and egg breakfast was served up at the park pavilion as the crowd began to gather for the auction.  The auction featured donated items from countless local and regional donors, and the funds raised go to support facilities and events
in Samaria.  

Auction items included the locally handcrafted, such as a quilt donated by the Oneida Quilt Guild, as well as many other crafted and sewn items.  One young Samaria supporter even donated their collection of dinosaurs, which was quickly snapped up.  Other items included artwork, practical lawn and gardening items, gift certificates, clothing, gadgets, yard working tools, and much more.  The bidding was friendly and fun throughout the afternoon, headed up by the auction team of JoAnn and Lynn Livingston.

During the auction, it was noted that two esteemed gentlemen in the crowd were both observing birthdays over the weekend, Gene Caldwell at a young 93, and Joe Smout at an even younger 85.  After being treated to the well-intentioned (and that’s what counts!) congratulatory singing of “Happy Birthday,” more focused singing was presented by those brave enough to face the crowd in the form of karaoke, led by the Huckaby family.  After being warmed up by members of the family, the microphone was turned over to anyone who wanted to give it a go, and the results were fantastic.  While a few younger singers experienced a bit of shyness in front of so many people, it was a fun time for everyone. 

Throughout the morning and afternoon, games for kids took place on the park grass, with water going full on by the time the heat started to set in in.  The Bake Sale and Doug’s Burger Shack kept the crowd fed and watered, and gave people a chance to relax and catch up.

The afternoon closed out with the Sawdust Scramble, in which kids (and adults) dug through sawdust looking for treasure in a madcap rush.  The final event of the afternoon was the always entertaining Chicken chase, where poultry are let loose and pursued.  As a finders-keepers event, it seemed that those who were looking for a new chicken ended up happy with the transaction.

 More people than not stayed to help clean up after the event, which is exactly the kind of community spirit one always sees in Samaria, whether it’s a celebratory event or not.