Farmers have their day in the sunshine

"Awareness Day" a hit this year

QUINCY — It was a good weekend to be a farmer in this city.

"Farmer-Consumer Awareness Day," a two-day celebration of the farming way of life, took place this weekend, with music, food and friendship mixing together with activities such as a parade, a tractor pull competition and more than just a few animals.

The events started Friday, but it was Saturday when this annual farming party really took off, with a morning parade, which included schools, local businesses and area activists; and at noon, a remembrance of the World Trade Center attacks of 2001 on the third anniversary of the event.

After that, Quincy High School became the center of the farming universe, with all sorts of stands and booths showing crafts and machinery filling up every nook and cranny of the school's gym. People visited the school for hours, while outside, a friendly sun shined as the motors idled, but not for long, as the tractor pull race began to heat up.

At Quincy's East Park, all sorts of bands entertained slowly growing crowds, while at the high school lawns, a few feet away from the roaring tractors, people of all ages played a singular version of beach volleyball on grass.

As the motors silenced, people slowly made their way to the park, where the party went on. A beer garden was there for adults, while a playground with swings and slides became a magnet for kids. Bands from Spokane and other nearby areas played on long after the sun had left and the crisp breeze made blankets and jackets appear.

By then, the verdict was in and yet another edition of the Farmer-Consumer Awareness Day had been deemed a success, teaching people about the farming way of life while being an outlet of fun for residents and visitors to this city.

"This was very exciting," said Toni Ihry, who won four different awards during the tractor pull competition. "My husband and I have been coming to this for years."

Even those who could not be there for the entire time gave the event high marks.

"I could not be here this morning because I was working," said Paula Valenzuela, "But we come here every year. The music is great."