FCAD celebrates 41

QUINCY — A parade, antique tractors, a car show, a quilt show, a memorial for military veterans and games for children are among the events - but by no means all the events - scheduled for the 41st Farmer Consumer Awareness Day Saturday in Quincy.

“A lot going on, oh yes,” said FCAD President Wyman Duggan.

Farmer Consumer Awareness Day started as a way to show consumers the contributions made by farmers, and that’s still FCAD’s foundation. Bierlink Farms and its owners will be recognized as the farm family of the year, and a longtime community volunteer, the late Grace Kok, will be honored for her contributions to Quincy. Kok was named the honorary farmer of the year.

“She did many, many, many things for this community,” Duggan said.

Kok worked the polling places in the days before mail-in elections, volunteered for community events and was involved in community organizations. That included the FCAD committee where she was the longtime secretary-treasurer, Duggan said. She died earlier this year after FCAD organizers decided to recognize her, he said, and the committee decided her contributions needed to be acknowledged regardless.

Duggan said the FCAD committee is in need of volunteers; Kok and three other longtime volunteers passed away during the last year.

The events actually start Friday night, with a block party on B Street SW, in the block between Central Avenue South and First Street Southwest. Activities are scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. and include live music along with food, beer and wine vendors.

The “Beat the Beast” run, in memory of Ben Horning, kicks off Saturday’s events. The race starts at 8 a.m., with same-day registration at 7 a.m. Runners and walkers have their choice of two-kilometer, five-kilometer or 10-kilometer courses. The course starts at Mountain View Elementary School, 119 D St. NW.

Local service clubs are sponsoring breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. at the Quincy Moose Lodge, 109 E St. SE. The Quincy Rotary chapter will be sponsoring a barbecue lunch at QMS.

A ceremony recognizing military veterans whose names will be added to the Quincy Valley Veterans Recognition Wall is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Memorial Park, 200 E St. SE. The Memorial Wall commemorates Quincy Valley residents who served in the military anywhere, at any time and in any capacity.

The annual parade starts its jaunt through downtown at 10 a.m. Parade entrants check in at the stand at the intersection of Central Avenue South and B Street SE, and the parade route snakes through downtown to Division Street East.

Traditionally antique tractors make up a big part of the parade, and the tractors will be on display after the parade at Quincy Middle School, the host for most FCAD events. A car show also is scheduled for QMS, along with the annual quilt show. The audience will get a chance to vote for their favorite quilts. The middle school also will be the home of the children’s games and the annual tractor pulling contest. The games start after the parade, and the tractor pulling begins at 12:30 p.m. Food and merchandise vendors will be setting up at QMS for the afternoon.

People who want to get a closer look at what those farms are all about are invited to the “Cruising the Crops” tour, with signup at 11 a.m. at QMS. A tour of valley geological formations is scheduled for 1 p.m.; people can sign up for the “Great Escape Geology Tour” at the middle school.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com. Find more content by downloading the Columbia Basin Herald app - available for iOS and Android devices.