Heritage Days kicks off Friday

STAFF REPORT

Next weekend will see the return of Heritage Days to Portales, where residents will have the opportunity to reconnect with their community by participating in various activities, according to Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karl Terry.

File photo

The 32nd annual Heritage Days will take place Friday and Saturday in Portales. The Heritage Days car show will be part of the event again this year, taking place all day Saturday at Portales City Park.

Terry said the 32nd Annual Heritage Days will feature everything from barrel racing to a car show to a gospel and bluegrass concert. The first event of the weekend, the barrel race, will begin at the Roosevelt County fairgrounds at 3 p.m. Friday.

“They compete in a figure eight pattern on horseback. There are three barrels in the arena, and it’s a timed event. It tests both the rider and the horse and their ability to work together,” Terry said.

Later that evening at 6:30 p.m., the Christian Country Jamboree, hosted by musicians Steve Davis and Steve Collins, will take place at City Park.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, after the MainStreet fun runs have taken place, the car show will begin at the south end of City Park. Registration for this event will be at 8 a.m., according to Terry, with the registration fee for the car show being $20.

The Heritage Day parade will begin lining up at 9:15 a.m. in the parking lot of the Eastern New Mexico University theater Building.

According to Terry, registration for the parade, which will begin at 10 a.m. and make its way to City Park, can be made by calling the chamber at 575-356-8541 or by coming to the line-up if participants forget to sign up. Registration for the parade is free.

“If they forget or whatever, we’ll take entries the day of the parade. They can just show up,” he said.

At 10:30 a.m., Terry said, booths will begin to open at City Park, followed by a country music concert at 11 a.m. with the concert consisting of many of the same performers from the Floyd Lion’s Club Jamboree.

At 1:30 p.m., after the concert, the Pioneer of the Year Award will be given to parade marshals Ruth Moore and Albert and Genevia Shirley, along with cake to celebrate.

The booths will be open at City Park until 4 p.m. and will feature attractions for children, including a rock climbing wall, bounce house and pony rides, Terry said.

According to Terry, after the presentation of the Pioneer award, two traveling Christian bluegrass bands will perform from 2 to 5 p.m .: Lindley Creek from Missouri and Second Time Around from Stephenville, Texas.

At 5 p.m., he said, participants can head to the Downtown Takeover at the Stargazer on Main Street, which will feature live bands and a cash bar. The event, which will last until 10 p.m., costs $10 per person.

Heritage Days, according to Terry, is important because it helps bring residents closer to their community and to the history of Portales.

“We go back, in Portales, to pre-statehood. It’s important to tip your hat to those that came before you and know a little bit about how hard it was in the beginning to make a living here, so we’re celebrating that hardy pioneer heritage. We’ve evolved as a community, but we still want to stay connected to what brought us here,” he said. “It’s really good hometown fun, and whether you’re from here or not, you’re going to meet a lot of fun people and have a very relaxed and great day.”

The following is the schedule for the 32nd Annual Heritage Days event to be held Friday and Saturday at City Park and more:

Friday

• 3 p.m .: CGRA Heritage Days Barrel Race, Fairgrounds

• 6:30 p.m .: Christian Country Jamboree, City Park

Saturday

• 7:30 a.m .: MainStreet Fun Run

• 8 a.m .: Car show registration

• 9 a.m .: Heritage Days Car Show starts

• 9:15 a.m .: Parade Lineup, Second St. & Ave. O

• 9:30 a.m .: Poker Run, Yam Theatre

• 10 a.m .: Parade Starts, will travel from Second to Abilene to the park

• 10:30 a.m .: Booths open, City Park

• 11 a.m. Local Country Music, City Park

• 1:30 p.m .: Introduction of Pioneers, City Park

• 2 p.m .: Christian Bluegrass Music, City Park

• 3:30 p.m .: Car show ends

• 4 p.m .: City Park Booths close

• 5 p.m .: City Park Music ends

• 5 p.m .: Downtown Takeover (music, beer, wine, food)

• 7 p.m .: PHS 80s Reunion, Yam Theatre

For more information, call 575-356-8541 or visit http://www.portales.com