From Sept. 3-6, the Jamestown Lions Club hosted multiple events throughout the week for their annual Labor Day Celebration.
Events are set up at Jamestown's Lions Park for people to enjoy and support the area. Lions Club treasurer Bryan Schoenthal said while the celebration had some turbulence, the community has been very satisfied overall.
From tractor pulls to ATV rodeos, the residents of Jamestown had a wide range of festivities to take part in. Schoenthal said he was happy to see such a solid turnout Saturday evening, but inclement weather early in the day meant most of the Saturday morning events had to be canceled.
"Of course we got the big rain on Saturday, which put a damper on the day," Schoenthal said Sunday. "We had no ball games on Saturday and the TT race down here was canceled, but we still went ahead and put together a corn hole tournament that filled up quickly. People were still hanging around and bought food at the concession stand, which evened things out a bit."
For Schoenthal, fortunately, the majority of the celebration was a success. Different events and amenities were offered to Jamestown locals throughout such as a beer garden and co-ed softball tournaments. On each day, there would be one or two special events that headlined the day. Friday evening played host to a tractor pull for people to attend; Sunday events included an FFA breakfast, ATV rodeo and movie night for children; and the Lions Club finished the celebration off with a BBQ pork and beef dinner Sunday afternoon.
Schoenthal said putting together the celebration takes a lot of volunteer work and that he is happy to see the community working together to do so.
"It's a lot of volunteer work," Schoenthal told the Democrat. "Of course, the Lions Club puts it on and the members do a lot (of work), but we also have a lot of volunteers and people that come and help out. There's one great thing about the community - we're a small town and everyone is willing to chip in and help."
Schoenthal said he hopes that the community enjoyed the celebration. He explained that for the residents of Jamestown, the Labor Day Celebration is like a homecoming. For the people that have been away, they can always return to see friends and family come together for a few days of fun as they support their local park.
"People in the community watching ball games, watching the events down here, and watching their kids participate in events - that's what it's about, everyone just having a good time," Schoenthal said. "While obviously, the main reason we do it is we raise funds for the park, its maintenance and different things like thatwe just appreciate people coming out and giving it a chance."