Camels, cars, contests: Rosalia’s Battle Days back with fresh look

The 48th annual Rosalia Battle Days is slated for this weekend, and it is booked with several new and old events.

In January, a new president was appointed to the Rosalia Chamber of Commerce, and she has been working through the plans for the annual event with a committee. Oona McGuinness-Fischer, the Chamber president, moved to Rosalia last September from Spokane, and she said she wants to help people realize how great Rosalia is.

“Oh my gosh, we do have a lot planned,” said McGuinness-Fischer.

The weekend kicks off on Friday, June 2, with the Rosalia Community Theatre presenting “Willy Wonka” at 7 p.m. at the Rosalia High School gym. Cost of admission will be $5.

The fun starts early Saturday morning, with scouts serving a breakfast at the fire station from 7-9:30 a.m.

“It will be good. There will be pancakes and sausage, kind of the whole works,” said McGuinness-Fischer. Cost for the breakfast is $6.

The annual fun run is also slated for an early start. Sign-up will begin at 6:30 a.m. at the fire station, and the run begins at 8 a.m. Cost will be $20 with a T-shirt and $10 without a T-shirt. Run participants are asked to park at the school. At 9 a.m., the rodeo association will host a “Barrel Battle” fundraiser at the rodeo grounds. Also at 9 a.m. will be the Rosalia Garden Club plant sale. The sale will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the mini park.

Ongoing throughout the day will be the vendors set up throughout the town, the car show at the Rose Garage and a mini carnival. McGuinness-Fischer said there will be 80 vendors.

“It’s quite a few more than we’ve had in a few years,” she said. “We got that many through a lot of outreach. I called on all of my contacts.”

Vendors will include seven professional photographers, a pin-up boutique, clothing designers, food and crafts.

“There will be a lot going on,” said McGuinness-Fischer. “I hope it goes well.”

The vendors will be set up on S. Whitman from Sixth Street to Ninth Street and Ninth Street to the city park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“The vendor areas are in several locations,” said McGuinness-Fischer. “Some of Whitman, the whole block on Seventh and Eight, side streets, the park. We really want people to have a great time and explore our community a little bit.”

McGuinness-Fischer said none of the food vendors will compete with food businesses in town, and there will also be “kid-friendly” food vendors.

“Kids are picky eaters,” she said. “There will be some food vendors with shaved ice, grilled cheese and cotton candy.”

The car show will feature a large variety of classic cars.

“There will be 200 to 300 cars. It will be a very large show,” McGuinness-Fischer predicted.

Also at the Rose Garage will be a beer garden, a new event for the Battle Days.

“We have four local breweries coming,” said McGuinness-Fischer. “There will be sampling of brews and domestic beer at the garden.”

A new event for Battle Days will be a mini carnival. “Cute As A Bug Mobile Petting Zoo and Camel Rides” has teamed up with “DSS: Backyard Events” to bring the mini carnival, which will feature camel and pony rides. There will also be three giant inflatables at the carnival.

“There will be a little something for everyone,” said McGuinness-Fischer.

The camel rides will be available for anyone aged three and up for $8, and pony rides will be available for children up to 75 pounds at $5.

The mini carnival will be set up at the Rosalia pool and park and will be throughout the day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Beginning at 10 a.m., the Budding Rose Gallery will open for the 18th annual Rosalia student art show. It will be open for viewing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

More morning fun will follow with the children’s parade beginning at 10:30 a.m. Line up will be in front of the library at 10 a.m. The main parade is slated for an 11 a.m. start with line up from 9:30 to 10:30 at the Catholic church. The parade will be emceed by Rusty McGuire, with the national anthem sung by Christy Lee. It will also feature the VFW Honor Guard which will include Gerald Hoffmann, John Loehne, Bruce Pritchett and Dick Mattausch. Grand marshals are Erma Jean Widman and Dr. Mary Widman, and they will be driven in a mustang owned by Terri and Leigh Tickner.

One of the big floats in the parade will be the “Adventures in Candyland” community float featuring Miss Rosalia Queen Sydney Van Dyke and princesses Daphne Jacobs, Jillian Bruce and C’aira Murray, as well as Mr. RHS King Collin Pittmann and princes Gavin Merritt, Chase Nybo and Eric Nelson.

Following the parade, the Lions Club raffle ticket drawing will be held.

A free swim will be held at the Rosalia pool, weather permitting, from 1 to 5 p.m., and live entertainment in the street will be held from 1 to 8 p.m. The live entertainment will feature bands and belly dancers. The professional belly dancers will perform on stage, and bands are Hot Club of Spokane and Mojo Box.

“They are amazing,” commented McGuinness-Fischer. Hot Club of Spokane is a jazz and blues band, while Mojo Box is a classic rock band.

A pin-up girls contest will be held at the Rose Garage throughout the afternoon. The pin-up girls will be in character throughout the day and will be helping with different components of the festival as well. Judging for the contest will take place at 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m. Each pin-up girl will answer one question, and the awards presentation is slated for 5 p.m. The stage calls will take place between band breaks.

Entries will be allowed the day of until noon, and minimum registration age is 15. Registration is free. The registration booth will be near the Rose Garage. McGuinness-Fischer said they are looking for more local entries to the contest.

“We have a lot from Spokane, some from Seattle, even Montana, but need some local ladies,” she said.

At 6 p.m., the Rosalia High junior class will sponsor a canvas café night at the community center.

Food options throughout the day will include the vendors and restaurants in town, including the Cook Shack at the rodeo grounds, Rosalia Coffee, Rosalia Market, the Brass Rail, Rose Garage and Whole in the Wall Pizza. Additionally, the sophomore class will hold a barbecue at the fire station from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost will be $7 per plate. Pie and bingo will follow the barbecue at the fire station.

Most of the town will be closed off due to the number of vendors and cars for the classic car show, McGuinness-Fischer said. For this reason, there will be several detours in place, and there will also be a shuttle into town.

“The shuttle drop off is at Seventh and Josephine,” said McGuinness-Fischer. “It’s very centrally located.”

It will cost $2 to park at the shuttle location and take the shuttle. The shuttle lot will have security throughout the day, and there will also be a large item hold at the shuttle lot so that people who buy large items during the day can store them.

“Parking in the lot we have set aside will really help us comply with pedestrian safety and emergency vehicle access,” said McGuinness-Fischer.

The parking proceeds will go toward the Battle Days funds.

McGuinness-Fischer said she is excited to see everything come together.

“There’s just so much!” she said.