A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Milton-Freewater’s Weekend at the Blues and Rodeo Festival a success
By MAX ERIKSON
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
M I LT ON - F R E E WA-
TER — The Weekend at the
Blues Music Festival and Pro
Rodeo event in Milton-Free-
water brought the community
together for what organizers
hope is a new tradition.
What was once the Muddy
Frogwater Festival has rein-
vented itself as a more
straightforward music festi-
val with many well-known
local bands hitting the stage,
such as the Coyote Kings, the
Wasteland Kings, and Feed-
back with Mike Mendoza.
The music festival was
Friday and Saturday, July 29
and 30, at Yantis Park, 200
De Haven Street.
Event organizer Kim
Munk, who also helped with
Muddy Frogwater days for
35 years, says they have been
wanting to bring back the
festival for two years.
In the meantime, they
needed something new to
call it.
“We have been trying for
two years to come up with
a new name,” Munk said.
“We chose Weekend at the
Blues because we sit at the
foot of the Blue Mountains,
and it made sense.”
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
People listen to The Wasteland Kings on Saturday, July 30, 2022, at the Milton-Freewater Music Festival in Yantis Park.
Munk said the same group
of volunteers who helped
organize Muddy Frogwater
came together for this new
event, so it was easy to get
things going again.
Pam Wildman, a longtime
volunteer at Muddy Frogwa-
ter, was the vendor coordina-
tor for Weekend at the Blues.
“It has been a challenge to
move on from Muddy Frog-
water to get people inter-
ested again because it was so
iconic to the city for so long,”
Wildman said. “But we have
gotten a great response for
this event, and I feel it has
been very successful. We
have vendors from all over
the area here.”
Craig Rouse, a one-time
city of Milton-Freewater
employee for the parks and
recreation department, booked
the bands. He said the goal is to
grow the event every year.
Locals take in Irrigon Watermelon Festival Parade
Phil Wright/East Oregonian
Participants in the Irrigon Watermelon Festival Parade line up Saturday, July 30, 2022, on Columbia Lane near the
Stokes Landing Senior Center. This year the parade had at least 35 entries.
“We did this with a bunch
of volunteers, and we wanted
to make it a music festival
and concentrate on bringing
in local talent,” Rouse said.
“Music is the main theme
and that is what makes it
different than the Muddy
Frogwater festival.”
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Register for paddle
boarding/kayaking
adventure
UMATILLA — For
an opportunity to spend a
couple of evenings on the
Columbia River, consider
signing up for the couples
paddle boarding/kayaking
class.
With autumn just around
the bend, the two-day class
is Sept. 10-11, 4-6 p.m.
at Umatilla Marina Park.
Presented by Umatilla
Parks and Recreation, the
two-day class is open to
ages 18 and up. The regis-
tration fee is $30.
Day one will include
water safety, paddling tech-
niques and learning how to
use your chosen watercraft.
The second session features
a paddle boarding/kayaking
adventure on the Columbia
River from McNary Dam to
the Umatilla Marina. Life
jackets are required and will
be provided.
To register, visit www.
umatilla-city.org/parksrec.
For questions, contact Luke
Romero at 541-922-3226 or
luke@umatilla-city.org.
Oldies Night
highlights
Tom Petty
Phil Wright/East Oregonian
Members of Irrgion High School hand out United States flags to the crowd Saturday, July 30, 2022, during the Irrigon
Watermelon Festival Parade.
MILTON-FR EEWA-
TER — Familiar tunes
such as “Free Fallin’,” “I
Won’t Back Down” and
“Stop Draggin’ My Heart
Around” are among the hits
BJ the DJ will spin during
the upcoming Oldies Night
in Milton-Freewater.
Fans of Tom Petty and
others are invited to listen
and groove on Saturday,
Aug. 6, 7-10 p.m. at Wesley
United Methodist Church,
816 S. Main St. Disc jockey
Bob Jones will share about
Petty’s days with his band,
the Heartbreakers, as well
as the musician’s joint
venture with George Harri-
son, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne
and Roy Orbison as the
Traveling Wilburys.
There is no admission
charge. For more infor-
mation, contact Jones at
dubuquer70@gmail.com
or 541-938-7028.
Library Comic
Con books into
second year
PENDLETON — Comic
book characters who partici-
pated in the inaugural comic
convention in Pendleton
should be thrilled to know
that the page is about to turn
for the second annual Library
Comic Con.
Deemed a rousing
success, library assistant
Heather Culley and others are
Phil Wright/East Oregonian
Children scramble to gather candy Saturday, July 30, 2022, at the parade during the Irrigon Watermelon Festival.
Rouse hopes in the future,
bigger regional and national
bands will appear at the festi-
val, like those that played the
Walla Walla Frontier Days in
the past.
The weekend festival
also included a small parade
Saturday down Main Street
in old town Milton-Freewa-
ter.
Families welcomed the
event after two years of
pandemic-limited activities.
Parade-goer and mother
Kayla Marker said it was
good to get out of the house
and do something fun with
the family.
“It is a good thing to have
for the summer. It helps
because there is not a lot to
do at the parks anymore,”
Marker said. “I like how its
all connected, the parade,
the music and the rodeo. It’s
really great for the commu-
nity and for local businesses.”
Kaylee Marker, 9, liked
getting out of the house for
some fun.
“I like that I can go to a
parade and really like getting
the candy.” Kaylee said.
Weekend events included
the Pro-West Rodeo at the
Pioneer Posse Grounds off
State Route 11 in Milton-Free-
water Saturday and Sunday.
gearing up for an even bigger
and better event. Comic
enthusiasts of all ages are
invited to attend — costumes
are strongly encouraged —
Aug. 6, 2-4 p.m. at the Pend-
leton Public Library, 502
S.W. Dorion Ave. Admission
is free. Free vintage comic
books will surely lure many
to join in the fun.
Activities include a
costume contest, a green
screen photo booth, crafts
and a one-shot roleplay-
ing game. In addition, there
will be vendor booths — so
bring some cash for a chance
to pick up some awesome
comics or cool swag.
For more information,
visit www.pendleton.or.us/
library. For questions or to
inquire about vendor space,
call Cully at 541-966-0380.
Summer meal
program continues
in Pendleton
PENDLETON — The
Summer Meal Program,
which began in late June,
continues through Aug. 18
in Pendleton.
A l l ch i ld r e n a nd
youths through age 18 are
invited to enjoy a free hot
meal Monday through
Thursdays. The food is
served from 11:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at
the Pendleton Early Learn-
ing Center, 455 S.W. 13th
St., Pendleton.
For questions, call
Suzanne Howard, director
of nutrition services at the
Pendleton School District,
at 541-966-3267.
Living Faith hosts
Family Fun Nights
HERMISTON — Water
fun and inflatables, games,
face painting, specialty
coffee drinks and food carts
are all featured during a
pair of Family Fun Nights
at Living Faith Church.
The events, with activ-
ities both indoors and
outdoors, are Friday, Aug. 5
and Friday, Aug. 19, at 1611
Diagonal Blvd., Hermis-
ton. There is no admission
charge.
Also, movies can be
viewed on a large indoor
screen — “The Chronicles
of Narnia: The Lion, The
Witch and The Wardrobe”
(Aug. 5) and “Luca” (Aug.
19). The flicks start at 5 p.m.
In addition, during the
Aug. 5 event, a youth fund-
raiser offers a Hawaiian
barbecue chicken dinner for
$15. Money will be used to
support the Hermiston City
Youth Night on Sept. 30.
Preorder via www.winac-
ity.com/ffn or by calling
541-567-4486.
— EO Media Group
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