The Osage City Chamber of Commerce is set for the Osage County Fair with “Country Strong” events and entertainment planned throughout fair week, July 19-22, 2023, at Osage City.
The varied source of events and entertainment will take place throughout the day and evening at Osage City’s Jones Park. 4-H participants will be busy throughout the week with their events. In the evenings, 6-9 p.m., there will be various types of community entertainment for all ages.
Thursday, July 20, the Osage City Lions Club will open the club’s food stand at 6 a.m. and will serve through the evening; the food stand will be open daily during fair week. The traditional pie baking contest registration will be 5-6:15 p.m. and the contest will be 6:30 p.m. inside the Osage City Community Building.
Friday, July 21, following the traditional parade at 6:30 p.m., the action will move to Jones Park, where everyone is encouraged to stop by the Lions Club food stand for supper and dessert. From 6-10 p.m. will be inflatables and axe throwing. The St. Patrick Altar Society will sponsor bingo 7:30-9 p.m. inside the community building. “Savanna Chestnut and the Hard Hands” will provide live musical entertainment 8-11 p.m. on the stage east of the community building. The band will take a break at 10 for the fireworks display and resume playing afterward.
Saturday, July 22, will be the final day of fair week, concluding with the final 4-H events, and Touch-A-Truck, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m., located in the parking lot west of the stadium. Touch-A-Truck is co-sponsored by Farm Bureau Association and JAG Trucking. The annual Cornhole Tournament will be at the Osage City Recreation Building; registration begins at 2:30 p.m. with play starting at 3. Tricia Gundy and Jeff Lohmeyer are organizers of the tournament.
A schedule of fair week events and entertainment will be available soon at the Osage Chamber of Commerce website www.osagecitychamber.com (Happenings link) or the Osage County Fair Association website https://www.osagecountyfair.com/schedule.
Osage County Parade
The theme for the Osage County Fair and the parade is “Country Strong”. This year, the theme may have a dual purpose and can either reflect a patriotic theme or country or rural theme. The parade will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 21. Adam Burnett, parade chairman, is in the process of creating some new and innovative concepts for the parade for this year. Prize money for float entries will be 1st, $125; 2nd, $100; 3rd, $75; 4th, $50. Prize money for golf carts and ATVs will be 1st, $30; 2nd, $20; 3rd, $10.
It has been suggested to the committee that the parade include the horses in contention for prize money this year. Plans are to have two categories for the horses this year with a monetary prize for each category. It is reminded that persons must be 17 years old to drive either golf carts or ATVs. No water balloons will be allowed in the parade.
Line-up starts at the west end of Market Street (around Bullseye Liquor and BP Station). Judging for floats, golf carts and ATVs will begin at 5:15 p.m. and will end at 5:45, and will take place in the line-up area at the west end of Market Street.
The judging for the horse entries will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end at 5:45, and will take place in the street near Flint Hills Beverage’s driveway. Horse entries should remain in this area until the parade begins.
Click for enlarged form or to download form. This information can be sent to Adam Burnett.
A parade entry form can be found at www.osagecitychamber.com (Happenings link) or click here. Submit forms to Adam at adamlorax@hotmail.com or contact him at 785-760-0621 for more information.
There will also be a kids parade for children up to age 12, who are invited to decorate bikes and meet at the east side of Lincoln Park to ride ahead of the main parade. Parade line up is at 6 p.m. Each child who participates will get a goodie bag. For more information, contact Becky Siljenberg at osagegardenandproduce@gmail.com or 785-217-7342.
“The Chamber thanks you in advance for your participation in our “Country Strong” parade. It is you, the community that make it a success by entering something fun, themed and memorable!”
Mr. and Mrs. Osage City and parade marshal to be named
The selection of nominations for Mr. and Mrs. Osage City and parade marshal will be determined and announced at the June 20 Chamber of Commerce member meeting.
Mr. and Mrs. Osage City and the parade marshal will participate in the July 21 Osage County Fair Parade. The Chamber of Commerce would like to thank those that sent in nominations and would like to congratulate the selected royalty and look forward to them being a part of the 2023 fair parade.
Coloring Contest
In conjunction with the fair parade, the Osage City Chamber of Commerce and Osage County Fire District No. 2, Osage City, are offering the opportunity for children, grades kindergarten through fifth, to color a theme picture with the anticipation of getting selected to ride on the fire truck in the parade July 21. Children can pick up their coloring page at the Osage City Library, with a deadline to return the colored page July 12.
Osage City Chamber of Commerce awards scholarship
This year, the Chamber received several excellent applications from female students for scholarships; however, there were no applications submitted by the male students. The applicants demonstrated outstanding scholastic achievements and community service. The scholarship requires students to submit an application, two letters of reference, an official transcript, and an essay covering “The Advantages of Owning and Operating a Business in a Small Town”.
The Chamber is pleased to announce Kaityn Gantenbein as the 2023 recipient of the $350 scholarship. Kaityn, daughter of Andrew Gantenbein and Kristi Dunbar, will be attending the University of Kansas in the fall, majoring in environmental studies. Kaityn was active throughout her high school as a member of FBLA, band, yearbook, class officer, Scholars Bowl, Spanish club, National Honor Society, student council, flag corps and color guard, jazz band, quiz bowl, FC, and Key Club. Athletics included volleyball, softball, track, basketball, cheerleading, and weightlifting.
Osage City Yard of the Month recognition
With all of the beautifully groomed yards and flower beds in Osage City, the Osage City Chamber of Commerce is again sponsoring a “Yard of the Month” recognition during the months of June through September. The selection of the yard will take place during the first few days of each month. In appreciation of the beauty and hard work for the selected yard, the home owners will receive a $25 Osage City Chamber Bucks Certificate to be used at a participating Osage City business.
The Chamber announced Loren and Letisha DeBaun’s yard has been selected for the month of June. Their home is located at 310 Market St. The couple’s daily attention to landscaping, varied sizes of containers of flowers and yard art, along with their beautiful manicured front and side yard, keeps them busy. Along side of the home are several large containers of colorful varieties of flowers and a wagon wheel trellis which includes a portion of Letisha’s Grandma Burd’s rose bush that Loren transplanted this spring, and is a special reminder of her Grandma. On the other side of their home, they have made a fenced in patio where they spend time relaxing after a busy day.
Loren and Letisha DeBaun’s yard in Osage City has been selected as the Chamber’s yard of the month for June 2023. Chamber photo.
From the Chamber Director: You’re never too old to learn something new
This month I asked myself what I could do to add something new to the Chamber Page that readers might really enjoy. I decided to do a “Did You Know” idea. I am going to ask the Chamber members to email me something about their business that everyone might not know and I will share it next month from those who have responded with an interesting tidbit about their business. Email to osagecitychamber@gmail.com.
Information submitted by Osage City Chamber Executive Director Jeanette Swartz.
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