The 148th Saints’ Roost Celebration was one of the coolest and dampest in recent memory with gentle wind and light rain during the traditional bingo, parades, turtle races, rodeos, craft fair, and other activities July 3-5.
Crossties Ministries annual Depression Luncheon was held at the Lions Hall this year with a packed house to start the celebration, and the Junior Ranch Rodeo closing out the day at the COEA Arena. Misting rain kept things cool on and off throughout the day, and then the cloud let loose a heavier downpour almost the exact same time the junior rodeo ended.
Friday’s Fourth of July was opened with more than 100 people filling the Clarendon Lions Hall to play Bag Bingo with 23 prizes ranging from coolers to tool bags to designer purses, ranging in value from about $50 to almost $600.
A fiesta lunch was held with the bingo and players were encouraged to bring their best homemade salsa for a friendly taste-off. Mandi Gay got the most votes for the Best Salsa and won the sombrero, and Donna Roys took second and third place.
The Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association hosted its ranch rodeos on Friday and Saturday evenings, and those results are also listed in a separate article this week.
The big day of the celebration was Saturday, July 5, with locals waking up to cool but humid conditions. The dampness in the air improved as the day went on but the temperatures remained tolerable.
The theme for this year’s celebration “Candy Land” because life is sweeter in Donley County, and a new analytical service provided by the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation estimates that 1,700 people attended Saturday’s events on the square.
The service from Placer.ai uses location data from mobile devices to analyze foot traffic in businesses and events. With the ability look back at historical data for six years, the CEDC reports this year’s celebration attendance was about equal to 2024 and higher than 2023 when about 1,400 people attended.
The Liberty Electric Kids Parade started things off Saturday morning with three age categories plus a motorized division.
Winners were as follows: Motorized: Daisy and Kimber Williams, first; Asher, Isla, and Zaylee Jaramillo, second; and Paisley Jones and Ashlynn White, third. Ages 0-4: Astrid Jaramillo, first; Miles Wynne, second; and Jenna Hall, third. Ages 5-8: Madilyn Herndon, first; Laura Lynn Hommel, second, and Kendall Danner, third. Ages 9-12: Katon Herdon, first; Esmae Naylor, second; and McKinley Wilhelm, third.
In the Herring Bank Parade, the Clarendon High School Cheerleaders won the first place Float, The Wrights had the best car/truck entry, best Animal entry was MR Cattle, Newhouse Farms had the best Tractor entry, and Country Bloomers Flowers & Gifts had the best Other entry.
The Al Morrah Shrine Club served about 400 plates of barbecue this year. A portion of the proceeds from the annual barbecue are used in conjunction with the Khiva Shrine Temple in Amarillo to help pay for the transportation of kids to the Shriners’ burns and crippled children’s hospitals.
The Clarendon Lions Club’s Cow Patty Bingo was won by Russell Estlack, Chris D’Costa, and Dyanne Johnston.
Henson’s annual Turtle Race was also held Saturday afternoon in its traditional location at Third and Kearney. A total of 130 youth entries competed in four different age divisions. Winning turtle jockeys this year were: age 0-4, Serenity McCord; age 5-8, Dawson Hall; age 9-12, Alix Roberts; and age 13-16, Kassie Askew. Adults then competed in a 17 and up division, and Aula Betts took home that title.
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