Small town, big days

No, your calendars aren’t off by a month. Hayden Days is upon us. It’s just a few weeks early, that’s all

City officials this year decided to move the annual festival from its usual July time frame to June to coincide with Sunday’s Coeur d’Alene Ironman. The idea, said Kevin Clement, Hayden public works director, is to take advantage of the city’s prime Ironman viewing location.

The city will set up bleachers along Fourth Street, adjacent to the festival grounds at Finucane Park, where family, friends and fans can watch the competitors pedal by during the bicycle portion of the triathlon.

“The way Ironman is set up this year, the bicyclists will be doing two loops, with passes going in and coming back right by (Finucane Park),” he said. “Here’s a venue where you can watch the competitors come through four different times, where if you’re hungry, there’s food, and if you’ve got kids, there are activities to keep them occupied.”

The date and Ironman proximity aren’t the only things that have changed, Clement said. The number of vendor booths is up significantly, and the children’s activities have been expanded.

And the route for today’s parade is different this year, as Deputy City Clerk and festival spokeswoman Allison Cross noted. Not by choice – the construction project on Government Way is forcing the change, she said.

The parade will begin at Hayden Meadows Elementary School, at 900 E. Hayden Ave., head south on Maple Street, turn into a residential neighborhood and follow Summerfield Loop before turning west on Prairie Avenue and ending at the Prairie Avenue Shopping Center.

Otherwise, there will be much that’s familiar to longtime fans of the small-town summer festival. While events were scheduled to officially kick off Friday night with a rock concert, there will be plenty to see today and Sunday.

On both days, food and craft vendors – more than 70 of them – will fill Finucane Park. Today’s lineup features the parade, a classic car show, animal demonstrations and an apple pie baking contest. On the agenda for tomorrow, in addition to the Ironman, are a boat show, a pet and owner look-alike contest and the Coeur d’Alene Symphony’s annual Symphony on the Sand performance at Hayden Lake’s Honeysuckle Beach.

Live music, ranging from country and bluegrass to rock and blues will fill out the schedule.

“It’s just a great mix. There’s a little bit of something for everybody,” Cross said. “We just know it’s going to be a great, fun event for the whole community.”