Warden Community Days held this weekend

WARDEN — Raft races, food and basketball tournaments take place this weekend as part of Warden Community Days.

The community celebration starts Friday night with a 7 p.m. football game between Warden and Mabton high schools.

SlamFest: The event continues Saturday with Warden’s SlamFest 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament at Warden’s Elementary School. Adult, high school, junior high and grade school players are invited to form teams.

For more information on the basketball tournaments, contact Wes Richins at 509-349-8158.

Lind: The fifth Great Lind Coulee Raft Race starts Sunday at 11 a.m. Registration starts at 10 a.m. at Boe Clausen’s shop, located at 23333 Road 7 S.E.

At 11 a.m. people release their rafts into the canal. Clausen, the event’s organizer, said these homemade rafts are made of everything from water barrels, inner tubes, floating docks, oil barrels and irrigation pipe.

“Anything that will float and you can sit on,” he said. “We’ve had some (rafts) that have only made it about 20 feet. There’s some rafts that make it almost to the end. There’s some rafts that don’t stay upright. They hit the water and they’re upside down.”

Previous races have drawn about 30 rafts, competing on the about 6 mile stretch of water to come in first. There’s generally two to four people on a raft traveling the about four to five hours to Road 3 S.E. and Road S. Participation in the race costs $50 a raft.

“Usually the racers will line up in the front and the relaxers will line up in back … The ones that want to get done early will usually get done early,” Clausen said.

When watching the race, Clausen said people should be careful standing on the roads and bridges.

“It’s definitely pretty entertaining to watch,” he said.

For more information on the raft race, contact Clausen at 509-750-9823.

Duck Race: After the race, Future Farmers of America (FFA) is holding a rubber duck race. The organization is releasing 500 ducks into Columbia Basin Project’s East Canal, racing them to Road 6. The group is selling the ducks for $5 each or five for $20.

“We are raising money to send a group of kids to the national FFA convention in Indianapolis,” said Shanna Golladay, an adviser.

The convention features speakers, a career show, leadership workshops and the ability to watch some of the national competitions. They also plan to visit area farms and a chemical plant.

The people, who purchased the top three ducks, receive one of three prizes including a two tickets to the Washington State University versus University of California — Los Angeles football game on Nov. 14, a guided duck hunt and a sailing trip for up to six people on the Puget Sound.

“The first duck who comes in gets to choose what prize they want,” Golladay said. “We probably have at least 100 ducks left. I know some of the students have sold all of theirs and some are still trying to sell theirs.”

For more information on the duck race contact Golladay at 509-760-5676 or Todd Kisler at 509-760-5042.

Pancake breakfast: Monday starts with a fire truck driving around the city telling people about the Warden Fireman’s Pancake Breakfast, starting at 6 a.m. at Volunteer Park at the corner of East Fourth Street and Maple Ave. While the breakfast is free, Mike Leavitt, a volunteer firefighter, said they do ask for a donation.

Volleyball, parade: After the breakfast, a 6-on-6 coed volleyball tournament starts in the part at 10 a.m. An hour later the parade starts. Registration for the parade starts at 7 a.m. at the Warden Community Center located at 114 N Oak Ave. Judging starts at 9 a.m. The parade starts at the center,

“We have a Grand Marshal,” said Bonnie Rettkowski, the parade’s organizer. “I can’t tell you at this time … It’s a surprise.”

The usually 30- to 45-minute long parade features Warden’s float, the high school band and assorted vehicles. The winner of the raft race also is usually in the parade.

“They all just kind of show up,” she said. “It all just kind of happens … We’re always looking for participants in the parade. (People can) come and celebrate a wonderful Warden weekend.”

Entertainment: Starting at noon, the park starts hosting entertainment. Velma Meiners, the person organizing the events in the park, said she is working on bringing a rock and roll band from Othello and a Hispanic band from Wenatchee to the event.

“There will be hamburgers and Mexican food,” she said. “There are vendors who are coming from the local area, who will be selling craft items … We will also have a jumping house.”

As of last week, Meiners said she has about 10 vendors for Monday, with some of them opening on Sunday after the finish of the raft race. The vendors include the Lions Club Semi-World Famous barbecue beef, the Catholic Church’s Mexican plates.

“Come support your community,” she said. “Quite a few of our vendors are from Warden. You can come and visit with people you don’t get to see everyday … We would just like everyone to have a fun time.”

Rettkowski said other community organizations such as the Warden Block Watch and a planned recreational arena.

Along with the vendors, the finals of the 3-on-3 basketball tournament also take place on Monday. A Fireman’s Water Barrel Competition is also planned for the afternoon. The event features two teams trying to push a barrel with a fire hose.

The 11 FFA students planning to take the trip to national convention also will participate in a rent a farmer auction, Golladay said. People have a chance to purchase their services.

“It could be helping to do some yard work or just visiting with them,” she said. “The duck races and rent a farmer were things we did when I was in high school … It’s two fund-raisers that we’re bringing back.”

Raffle: Local Lions club members are selling raffle tickets as well. The tickets are $1 a piece. Prizes are a two-minute shopping spree at Town and Country Mark-it, four tickets to the Washington State University versus Hawaii football game in Seattle, four tickets to the Washington State University versus University of Southern California football game in Los Angeles and a Warden school family sports pass.

Meiners is already planning for next year, which is the city’s centennial. She said they are hoping to expand the celebration to the entire weekend.