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ENLARGE
Youngsters have some watermelon fun at a past Riddle Sawdust Jubilee.
If you go...
Thursday, July 3:
8:30 to 10 a.m.: Registration for basketball tournament, Riddle High School Gym. Cost is $15 per team.
Noon: Booths open in Riddle City Park.
Noon: Beer garden at the Riddle Fire Hall.
1 p.m.: Pet contest, park stage.
1:30 p.m.: Chalk art contest, park playground sidewalks.
2 p.m.: Itty Bitty Bikini & Little Mr. Muscle contest (ages 3 to 5 only).
3 p.m.: Phil Crosson, illusionist, park stage.
3:30 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest, ring of trees, park.
4:30 p.m.: Calamity Jazz Ensemble (ragtime style, authentic jazz), park stage.
5 to 7 p.m.: Kids logging competition (ages 16 and younger), lower park across bridge.
6 p.m.: Umpqua Timbermen Barbershop Chorus, park stage.
Friday, July 4
8 to 10 a.m.: Sawdust Jubilee breakfast, Riddle Community Center, $6.50 for adults; $4 kids 12 and younger.
10 a.m.: Main Street Park dedication, Main and Second streets.
10:45 a.m.: Flyover by Oregon National Guard, F-16 fighter jets.
11 a.m. Parade begins, route: Park Street to First Avenue to Main Street.
Noon: Barbecue and beer garden, Riddle Fire Hall.
12:30 to 4 p.m.: Trolley rides to events, courtesy of Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort.
12:30 p.m.: Dessert auction, park stage, Riddle High School junior class.
12:30 to 1:30 p.m.: Registration for basketball tournament, Riddle High School gym.
1 to 4:30 p.m.: Car show, Main Street.
Lawnmower races, south Main Street by bridge.
Motorcycle poker run, registration in high school parking lot. Special “redneck division.”
1:30 p.m.: Parade results, park stage.
2 p.m.: Basketball tournament, Riddle High School gym.
2 to 4 p.m.: Cribbage tournament, City Hall.
2:30 p.m.: Coyote Ridge Band (country and rock), park stage.
5 to 7 p.m.: Adult logging competition, lower park, across bridge.
6:30 p.m.: Kenny Holmes (oldies), park stage.
7 p.m.: No Limit (country, rock, blues), high school football field.
7:30 p.m.: Common Ground (southern country gospel), park stage.
10 p.m.: Fireworks, high school football field.
8:30 to 10 a.m.: Registration for basketball tournament, Riddle High School Gym. Cost is $15 per team.
Noon: Booths open in Riddle City Park.
Noon: Beer garden at the Riddle Fire Hall.
1 p.m.: Pet contest, park stage.
1:30 p.m.: Chalk art contest, park playground sidewalks.
2 p.m.: Itty Bitty Bikini & Little Mr. Muscle contest (ages 3 to 5 only).
3 p.m.: Phil Crosson, illusionist, park stage.
3:30 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest, ring of trees, park.
4:30 p.m.: Calamity Jazz Ensemble (ragtime style, authentic jazz), park stage.
5 to 7 p.m.: Kids logging competition (ages 16 and younger), lower park across bridge.
6 p.m.: Umpqua Timbermen Barbershop Chorus, park stage.
Friday, July 4
8 to 10 a.m.: Sawdust Jubilee breakfast, Riddle Community Center, $6.50 for adults; $4 kids 12 and younger.
10 a.m.: Main Street Park dedication, Main and Second streets.
10:45 a.m.: Flyover by Oregon National Guard, F-16 fighter jets.
11 a.m. Parade begins, route: Park Street to First Avenue to Main Street.
Noon: Barbecue and beer garden, Riddle Fire Hall.
12:30 to 4 p.m.: Trolley rides to events, courtesy of Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort.
12:30 p.m.: Dessert auction, park stage, Riddle High School junior class.
12:30 to 1:30 p.m.: Registration for basketball tournament, Riddle High School gym.
1 to 4:30 p.m.: Car show, Main Street.
Lawnmower races, south Main Street by bridge.
Motorcycle poker run, registration in high school parking lot. Special “redneck division.”
1:30 p.m.: Parade results, park stage.
2 p.m.: Basketball tournament, Riddle High School gym.
2 to 4 p.m.: Cribbage tournament, City Hall.
2:30 p.m.: Coyote Ridge Band (country and rock), park stage.
5 to 7 p.m.: Adult logging competition, lower park, across bridge.
6:30 p.m.: Kenny Holmes (oldies), park stage.
7 p.m.: No Limit (country, rock, blues), high school football field.
7:30 p.m.: Common Ground (southern country gospel), park stage.
10 p.m.: Fireworks, high school football field.
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ENLARGE
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A collage of parades from previous years highlight the long-running Riddle Sawdust Jubilee tradition.
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RIDDLE — While the lawnmower races and the “redneck division” of the motorcycle poker run may have debuted later in the festival timeline, two aspects of the long-running Riddle Sawdust Jubilee have always remained the same.
A parade — that now stretches longer than the town itself— and a fast and furious fireworks display have been on the bill since 1983.
“By the time the beginning of the parade gets back to the school, the end hasn’t left yet,” said Blake Rice, who has organized the parade with his wife, Rose Rice, for the past 15 years.
The Riddle Sawdust Jubilee is a spin-off of the late Wooden Nickel Days— named after the Hanna Nickel Mine Co.— that was completely defunct by the mid-’70s.
Larry Linton and his wife, Carol, moved to Riddle from California in 1976 and a few years later Larry Linton was approached by a fireworks buff and local business owner, Elmer Love, who has since passed away.
“He came to me and said let’s do a fireworks show and two weeks later, we had a fireworks show,” said Larry Linton. “And it grew from there.”
A parade — that now stretches longer than the town itself— and a fast and furious fireworks display have been on the bill since 1983.
“By the time the beginning of the parade gets back to the school, the end hasn’t left yet,” said Blake Rice, who has organized the parade with his wife, Rose Rice, for the past 15 years.
The Riddle Sawdust Jubilee is a spin-off of the late Wooden Nickel Days— named after the Hanna Nickel Mine Co.— that was completely defunct by the mid-’70s.
Larry Linton and his wife, Carol, moved to Riddle from California in 1976 and a few years later Larry Linton was approached by a fireworks buff and local business owner, Elmer Love, who has since passed away.
“He came to me and said let’s do a fireworks show and two weeks later, we had a fireworks show,” said Larry Linton. “And it grew from there.”
That first year, the parade consisted of a couple of log trucks and fire engines inching down First Avenue in Riddle and lasted about 10 minutes. The fireworks display lit the sky for just as long.
After the jubilee became a fixture in Riddle each year, organizers decided to have themes. One year, they decided to theme the parade after the stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. There was a fence-painting contest and one family paraded a truck with a blow-up swimming pool in the back so it appeared from the sidewalks that the kids in the pool were bobbing up and down the Mississippi River.
However, the theme for the past three years has been “Small Town, Big Blast.”
“After 15 or 18 years, you start getting kind of corny,” said Linton about running out of themes.
The small town is gearing up for its big blast this year with festivities beginning today, including the Itty Bitty Bikini & Little Mr. Muscle contest (for ages 3 to 5 only), a watermelon-eating contest and a kids logging competition. Live music will boom from the park stage in the evening. The Sawdust Jubilee will continue through the holiday weekend with an adult logging competition, booths in City Park, an Oregon National Guard flyover and of course, the traditional parade, which Linton said is “300,000 percent” larger than that first year.
As the designated parade person, Rose Rice is usually frantic on the Fourth of July eve, but once the 80 to 100 entries are cruising slowly down the street on Independence Day, she is able to relax. She said there has been everything from chuck wagons pulled by mules to llamas and dogs to old tractors in the parade. Surprisingly, Rice said there have been no major disasters to date, except for last year when a kid was kicked by a horse as it was being unloaded from a trailer. But, she added, the incident doesn’t count because it was before the parade. Vehicles have run out of gas along the parade route and the solution has always been fairly simple.
“They just push it to the side, and the parade goes on,” she said.
The atmosphere is jubilant; candy flies through the air and children scramble to see who can gather the most. Miniature American flags are handed to spectators and this year an ice cream truck will provide cool treats for kids.
“The best thing about it is the participation and the kids that come down to be in the parade and want to be part of our town,” Rice said.
The highlight of the Sawdust Jubilee overall, though, according to Rice, is the fireworks.
“They get better and better every year,” she said.
Rice said people drive from as far away as Eugene, Springfield and Grants Pass to join in the jubilee festivities and then flock to the high school football field for the fireworks show at 10 p.m.
Larry Linton never gets to see just how many people show up for the citywide party that he co-founded 26 years ago because while most are celebrating, he’s busy packing up the remnants from the fireworks show. He said he has heard though, that the little town is gridlocked with motorists all trying to head back to the highway.
“If you come down and watch our fireworks show, you better park heading out,” said Linton. “Because you won't be able to make a U-turn for an hour."
• You can reach reporter Cara Pallone at 957-4208 or by e-mail at cpallone@nrtoday.com.
After the jubilee became a fixture in Riddle each year, organizers decided to have themes. One year, they decided to theme the parade after the stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. There was a fence-painting contest and one family paraded a truck with a blow-up swimming pool in the back so it appeared from the sidewalks that the kids in the pool were bobbing up and down the Mississippi River.
However, the theme for the past three years has been “Small Town, Big Blast.”
“After 15 or 18 years, you start getting kind of corny,” said Linton about running out of themes.
The small town is gearing up for its big blast this year with festivities beginning today, including the Itty Bitty Bikini & Little Mr. Muscle contest (for ages 3 to 5 only), a watermelon-eating contest and a kids logging competition. Live music will boom from the park stage in the evening. The Sawdust Jubilee will continue through the holiday weekend with an adult logging competition, booths in City Park, an Oregon National Guard flyover and of course, the traditional parade, which Linton said is “300,000 percent” larger than that first year.
As the designated parade person, Rose Rice is usually frantic on the Fourth of July eve, but once the 80 to 100 entries are cruising slowly down the street on Independence Day, she is able to relax. She said there has been everything from chuck wagons pulled by mules to llamas and dogs to old tractors in the parade. Surprisingly, Rice said there have been no major disasters to date, except for last year when a kid was kicked by a horse as it was being unloaded from a trailer. But, she added, the incident doesn’t count because it was before the parade. Vehicles have run out of gas along the parade route and the solution has always been fairly simple.
“They just push it to the side, and the parade goes on,” she said.
The atmosphere is jubilant; candy flies through the air and children scramble to see who can gather the most. Miniature American flags are handed to spectators and this year an ice cream truck will provide cool treats for kids.
“The best thing about it is the participation and the kids that come down to be in the parade and want to be part of our town,” Rice said.
The highlight of the Sawdust Jubilee overall, though, according to Rice, is the fireworks.
“They get better and better every year,” she said.
Rice said people drive from as far away as Eugene, Springfield and Grants Pass to join in the jubilee festivities and then flock to the high school football field for the fireworks show at 10 p.m.
Larry Linton never gets to see just how many people show up for the citywide party that he co-founded 26 years ago because while most are celebrating, he’s busy packing up the remnants from the fireworks show. He said he has heard though, that the little town is gridlocked with motorists all trying to head back to the highway.
“If you come down and watch our fireworks show, you better park heading out,” said Linton. “Because you won't be able to make a U-turn for an hour."
• You can reach reporter Cara Pallone at 957-4208 or by e-mail at cpallone@nrtoday.com.
