Chubbuck’s largest community celebration returns this weekend
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CHUBBUCK – The largest community celebration in Chubbuck will take place this weekend.
Chubbuck Days, a festival celebrated for decades, will return on Friday and Saturday. People who attend will have the chance to meet with various businesses, many of their elected officials and other members of the community.
“This is an event that we look forward to each and every year,” said Kayla McCain, programs specialist for the city, who took over organizing Chubbuck Days this year from Wendy Butler, the mayor’s assistant.
Not only is it the largest, but it’s also the longest continually running celebration in Chubbuck, with it first taking place in 1960.
“This has been a tradition in Chubbuck for as long as I can remember. … I think it’s a time that the community looks forward to get together,” said Mayor Kevin England.
The celebration starts on Friday evening with a free family movie at Stuart Park, starting at approximately dusk. This year, the featured film will be ‘The Wild Robot.’
Families can show up early with lawn chairs and blankets, and can watch their children play in the splash pad before the movie starts.
The second day of the celebration will begin with a parade through the streets of Chubbuck. Despite the construction on the Pine Ridge Mall, floats and other entries will line up in their normal area.
The parade will commence at 10 a.m. with the floats entering Hawthorne Road, traveling toward West Chubbuck Road. Entries will turn left and end at Independence Avenue.
“Our parade is one of the largest draws,” McCain said. “It’s not just about the candy and the swag and everything. It’s just a great atmosphere. Everybody is excited and everybody’s moving and it’s honestly my personal favorite parade in Bannock County.”
Directly after the parade, the festival at Cotant Park will run through 3 p.m. Festival-goers will have four hours to walk around the ball fields to visit about 60 vendors ranging from food trucks to businesses to nonprofits.
There will also be a variety of free events at the festival, starting with the Watermelon Feed, where people can get free slices of watermelon provided by the Chubbuck Walmart. It will be directly followed by the Fireman’s Rain, by the Chubbuck Fire Department. In addition to this, children can also pick up free building kits, provided by Home Depot.
Mayor England shared his favorite part of Chubbuck Days with EastIdahoNew.com.
“A lot of times when we’re dealing with city things, it’s business and … sometimes it gets so formal, and it’s just good to have a time when you get together with the community,” England said. “This (is) just a time to be laid back and have a good time with one another.”
