Dateline: February 23, 2006

Planning underway for Sts. Roost Celebration 

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Everything old will be new again when Clarendon holds the 128th anniversary Saints’ Roost Celebration this summer.

It’s going to be on the Fourth of July, preferably at the Courthouse; and the parade will return to its afternoon timeslot.

At a planning meeting hosted by the Chamber of Commerce Friday evening, the date of the celebration was the first topic of conversation. In the last six years, the celebration has only been held twice on July 4, and a Saturday schedule was favored the other four years with the date being as early as July 1 and as late as July 7.

Forcing the celebration to Saturday last year caused confusion, hurt local merchants who had to be closed two days instead of one, and denied local motels the opportunity to host visitors for more nights.

Attendees at last week’s meeting favored Tuesday, July 4, as the appropriate date to mark American Independence, and most recalled the celebration as being traditionally held on the Fourth. It was also discussed that the date will eliminate confusion and will give Clarendon the opportunity to attract visitors for more than one day, especially those attending class reunions.

With the date established, the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association outlined its plans for rodeo activities. Alex McAnear said COEA will hold its annual ranch rodeo Friday and Saturday, June 30 and July 1, and a ranch horse competition will be held Saturday morning. Dances will be held both nights.

McAnear also said a kids’ rodeo for cowboys and cowgirls ages 16 and under will be held Monday night, July 3, and a ranch bronc ride will be held Tuesday night, July 4. No dance is planned for those two nights, but COEA will consider opening the dance floor if a local band wants to perform.

Books for the rodeo will open May 1, 2006, and Boy Scout Troop 433 will provide concessions for all four nights of rodeo activities.

The arts and craft fair and the Shriners’ barbecue will be held Tuesday, July 4; and those attending the meeting expressed a preference for those activities to be held on the Courthouse Square.

The celebration was traditionally held at the courthouse, but the location was moved to City Park in 2001 when the restoration of the courthouse began. Shriners A.R. Henson and Roger Estlack said the barbecue had lost attendance since it moved, and others said they thought county commissioners had said the move was only temporary when it was made.

It was discussed that the park offers a bigger area and more electrical outlets for vendors, but it also has limited viewing for the parade and limited parking. It’s also difficult to draw visitors from the highway to a celebration out of view at the park compared to a celebration one block away at the courthouse.

County Extension Agent MaryRuth Bishop said she would talk to county officials about holding the celebration on the square, and representatives of the Shrine Club are planning to attend the next commissioners’ court meeting also.

The time for the parade was the next item of discussion, and it was decided to return the parade to its traditional 2 p.m. timeslot.

Last year’s parade broke with tradition and was held at 10 a.m., which meant the temperature was cooler during the parade, but which also meant vendors and other activities were hurt by the loss of an afternoon crowd. Starting at 2 p.m. also gives Chamber officials more time to line up the parade and allows people participating the parade to enjoy the morning activities at the celebration.

Other activities will be a blood drive at Suna AutoMall on Friday, June 30, and the annual Henson’s Turtle Race on Saturday afternoon, July 1, which will draw a typically large crowd on its own and add to any sales and activities planned that day by downtown merchants.

Those attending the meeting also discussed the possibilities of reviving the old rodeo queen contest and adding a community fireworks display, but it was decided that those topics could be revisited when planning future celebrations.

For this year, the County Extension Office will being sending mail outs to prospective vendors March 1, and the Chamber of Commerce will begin sending information to potential parade participants about the same time. COEA will continue its traditional role of handling the publicity of the celebration in the form of posters and advertisements.