North Powder celebrates summer

TASTY TREAT: Young huckleberry pickers Clay Martin, left, and Cole Martin enjoy the mountain’s bounty. - Photo/MARNY MARTIN

Sunny days, warm evenings and cool crisp mornings are accented by bright blue skies and colorful sunsets. Whether you enjoy golfing, hiking, horseback riding or exploring the specialty shops and museums, the pace is relaxing and the mood is friendly.

Just about every small town in the area hosts a festival that celebrates its history and invites visitors to get to know what makes that community unique.

Saturday North Powder invites people from near and far to honor its favorite wild fruit and enjoy a rollicking good time during the North Powder Huckleberry Festival. This is the second year for the event and organizers anticipate a good attendance.

Huckleberries are a precious commodity for residents of this town and valley. They were a summer staple for Native Americans who summered in the area and the pioneers who arrived in the mid-1860s to settle here and their value remains today.

Locating the best berry patch means delectable desserts and savory jellies and jams will sweeten the winter months ahead. This time of year, if you see someone with purple-stained fingers you can probably assume they have been picking huckleberries.

You might ask how the berries are this year, but don’t expect them to tell you precisely where to find a patch — that’s like asking for a favored fishing hole.

You won’t have to search hard to get a taste of this heavenly treat if you visit North Powder during its annual Huckleberry Festival.

Someone else will have done the hard work — you just get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Ice cream sundaes, pies, crepes and desserts of all kinds will be offered.

Bid on the best at the Huckleberry Dessert Contest’s silent auction after the winners are announced. Aramark Chef Mike Morse, also a North Powder city councilor, will lead the judging and present the cash awards.

Desserts for the Huckleberry dessert contest can be registered at the Cornerstone Baptist Church on the corner of E Street and First between 1 and 2 p.m.

Prizes are $50 for first place, $35 for second, and $15 for third place in the Judge's Choices. There is also a People’s Choice award of $50 that goes to the dessert maker whose dessert sells for the most in the silent auction after the judging is announced. Last year, some of the desserts sold for more than $100. Money from the auction helps fund the Huckleberry Festival, so, once the desserts are entered, they become the property of the event.

Attendees can also buy a taste of huckleberries at the Wolf Creek Grange or the Huckleberry Patch.

Lunch or dessert is also available from food vendors at the corner of E Street and Second.

There’s more to this celebration than berries, however.

An all-school reunion breakfast (everyone is invited!) kicks off the day at the Powder Valley School. Craft vendors, dog agility contests, the Huckleberry Heaven Parade, live music and a talent show at the gazebo, games and activities for young people, and lawn mower races will keep the tiny downtown humming all day.

The volunteer firemen will host their popular barbecue from 4 to 6 p.m., which will be followed by an alumni basketball challenge at the school. It’s a full day of fun in a friendly little town with a fantastic mountain view.

Call 1-800-848-9969 for additional event and travel information or go to www.visitlagrande.com. The day’s schedule is below.

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

7 to 11 a.m. — All-School Reunion Breakfast, Powder Valley School

9 to 11 a.m. — First set of Dog Agility Contests, E Street and First

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Craft and Food Vendors are open, Second and E Street

11 a.m. — Huckleberry Heaven Parade

Noon — Kids Games and Wolf Creek Grange Activities start

Noon to 6 p.m. — Jam Session and Talent Show

Live Music by Disorderly Conduct

1 p.m. — Second set of Dog Agility Contests

1 to 3 p.m — Lawn Mower Race safety check and Show & Shine

1 p.m. — Huckleberry Dessert Contest entry check-in

2 p.m. — Dessert Contest judging by Chef Mike Morse, Aramark

3 p.m. — Dessert Contest silent auction

4 p.m. — Lawn Mower Races on Second Street.

4 to 6 p.m. —Firemen’s Barbecue on E Street

6 p.m. — Alumni Basketball at the school