<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0HPIsq_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0HPIsq_1Dj4AZeE00" width="1280" height="990" ><figcaption>9-year-old Payton Walsh holds up her 1st place award in the children's axe throw and 2nd place award in the Choker setting. This is her second year participating. (Shareen Strauss)</figcaption></figure>Post Views: 456The 79th Lumberjack Fiesta went off without a hitch, drawing many people to the little town of McCloud over the weekend.Festivities kicked off Friday night at Hoo Hoo Park with the Little Miss Fiesta/Little Logger contest, followed by dancing led by Geeia DJ’ing “WildWoman Sound.” She has been announcing the parade and other festival events since 2009. The Papa Anderson Memorial Softball Tournament also began Friday night with 13 teams this season. An Axe Throwing Clinic for children, sponsored by Precision Axes, was held Friday evening and has become very popular.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=49swfZ_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=49swfZ_1Dj4AZeE00" width="2048" height="1798" ><figcaption>Patty Faulkner-Ballard presents this year’s Grand Marshals LeRoy and Joyce Scarbrough with their plaque at the end of the parade.</figcaption></figure>McCloud Recreation Council President Patty Faulkner-Ballard has hosted this huge weekend festival for the past 16 years. Each year the event grows larger. Patty originally started with about 8 to 10 vendors; this year she had more than 50 vendors selling food, toys, and crafts that filled every area of the park.The American Legion Cheula Post 92 held a pancake breakfast. For those who slept in, vendors at the park offered plenty of delicious food for every meal.People lined the streets in downtown McCloud to watch the parade. Of the 25 parade entries, there were five different categories of winners plus the Judges’ Choice Award, which this year went to the Siskiyou Humane Society.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4KMKCD_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4KMKCD_1Dj4AZeE00" width="1024" height="683" ></figure>Among the tournaments was the Harold Benedict Memorial Horseshoe Tournament, which the Benedict family has hosted for 31 years.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=02IBW2_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=02IBW2_1Dj4AZeE00" width="2048" height="1419" ></figure>Richard Benedict announced that his family is stepping down and that Caleb Cordes will continue to host it.“When I was growing up in the ’80s, my dad created a passion for horseshoe pitching. He set up horseshoe pits in our yard and we played most every night. My friend Chuck and I participated in one of the Fiesta horseshoe tournaments and got fourth place, which motivated my dad to start entering tournaments at the Fiesta and the Callahan Days tournament in 1994. He planned to team up for the tournament in Weaverville in the summer of 1995. But it was not meant to be. My dad died in a car accident on April 9, 1995.“To honor my dad, the McCloud Community Recreation Council gave our family the OK to start running the horseshoe tournaments at Fiesta and renamed it the Harold Benedict Memorial Horseshoe Tournament. My aunt Celeste ran the tournament for 20 years, then my aunt Hertha took it over for the next eight years. My uncles ran it for a few years before my daughter Samantha ran the last two tournaments—for a total of 31 years. Our family simply decided that at this time we were no longer going to run the tournaments. But the good news is that our friend Caleb Cordes is going to keep the horseshoe tournament going, and the Harold Benedict name will remain.“We cannot begin to express our gratitude to Caleb for stepping up to do this. We would also like to thank all the participants we have had over the years. They made the tournaments very successful and popular and led to thousands of dollars going to the McCloud Recreation Council.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3A8W8Z_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3A8W8Z_1Dj4AZeE00" width="1959" height="2048" ><figcaption>84-year-old George Quigley, who has been competing in horseshoe tournaments for 30 years, stands next to his competitor David Etter.</figcaption></figure>The Lumberjack/Logging competition featured separate children’s, amateur adult, and professional contests in axe throwing, two-person wood sawing, and choker setting, in which competitors jump and climb over large logs with a choker cable in a timed race.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4CSE1A_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4CSE1A_1Dj4AZeE00" width="2048" height="1475" ><figcaption>Jack and Jill sawing competition</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3nNzSW_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3nNzSW_1Dj4AZeE00" width="2048" height="1508" ><figcaption>Lilly Henson showing off her awards after placing first in the Jack and Jill competition and third in Choker Setting .</figcaption></figure>Another popular event was the Watermelon Eating Contest, with age-group divisions.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4AyT8w_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4AyT8w_1Dj4AZeE00" width="1024" height="683" ><figcaption>On the right is the oldest competitor, 72-year-old Jeanne Marin from Hilt, California.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=32jt0M_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=32jt0M_1Dj4AZeE00" width="2048" height="1390" ><figcaption>The winners of the Watermelon Eating Contests with organizer Lynn Clark holding up one of the 20 watermelons donated by the American Legion for the event.</figcaption></figure>The 25th Papa Anderson Softball Tournament was won by Kyle’s Krew.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4HAbLv_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4HAbLv_1Dj4AZeE00" width="1024" height="770" ></figure>They had to beat their top competitor, Mountain Top Athletics, twice to win the tournament. The final-game score was 28–14. Ryan Jackson, who has organized the tournament for the last 20 years, said, “I want to thank the McCloud Services District for maintaining the field, Sousa Ready Mix for donating the dirt, and Roll ’N Rock Construction for donating the extra lights so we can play into the night. Mark Madron umpired all the games. We had one new team this year called the Vets Club. All the teams played well and there were no issues.”After another fun and successful Lumberjack Fiesta, McCloud Recreation Council President Patty Faulkner-Ballard announced that after 16 years of organizing the festival she is stepping down.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2UtBX7_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2UtBX7_1Dj4AZeE00" width="1536" height="2048" ><figcaption>Acknowledged her for all her years of service.</figcaption></figure>“I have been involved with the MCRC for 28 years. My first year organizing it in 2010, Dale and I got married on Friday the 23rd. It was crazy trying to put together my wedding while doing the Fiesta at the same time. Through the years we have held the festival during downpours, extremely hot weather, and bad smoke from all the fires. There have been bad accidents during the tournaments or at the playground, but everyone prevails. The axe throw has always been a favorite. The horseshoe tournament has gotten so popular they had to turn people away. It has been hard work, but very satisfying. I want to thank everyone who has supported my journey as the Fiesta Coordinator. With that being said, this is my last year due to health reasons. And I want to give a special thanks to all the wonderful hard-working volunteers that help make all this happen.”Many people have asked whether the McCloud Chamber will take on the Lumberjack Fiesta. Shari Rouiller with the chamber said:“The McCloud Chamber of Commerce truly recognizes the value and long-standing tradition of the Lumberjack Festival, and we understand how important it is to our community. We appreciate everyone, especially Patty, who has worked so hard over the years to make it so successful. At this time, however, the Chamber is unable to take on the responsibility of organizing another event. Our calendar is already full with events and programs we currently manage, and our volunteer resources are stretched to capacity. Our Board of Directors is made up of local business owners who generously volunteer their time while also running their businesses. In addition, our volunteers are already committed across multiple Chamber events throughout the year. Taking on another festival would exceed the resources we currently have available and could impact the quality of events we already produce. This decision is not a reflection of the importance of the festival, but rather a realistic assessment of our capacity. We remain supportive of the festival and hope that a dedicated group or organization with the time and resources to focus on it will step forward to continue its tradition.”A special couple has now stepped up to the challenge of continuing the Lumberjack Fiesta. Since 2021, Josh and Jenn Frick have been participating vendors at the Lumberjack Fiesta and many other events in McCloud and around Siskiyou County. Their business, Sweet Country Kettle Corn, has operated for 11 years, traveling to events all over the county selling their delicious popcorn.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3wh7Wc_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3wh7Wc_1Dj4AZeE00" width="1024" height="689" ><figcaption>Josh Frick, Jake and Owen Knechtle, Josh’s daughter Lyndy Frick, and Alisa Eastis at their Sweet Country Kettle Corn booth.</figcaption></figure>They have lived in Siskiyou County their whole lives. Josh said, “We are very excited about this. We love McCloud and feel they are family. We want to see the Lumberjack Fiesta continue to thrive.”Patty said of the Fricks, “These guys know how to run a business. I will volunteer to work and help them. They are wonderful, friendly, efficient, and caring people. I know they will do the best job continuing the Lumberjack Fiesta tradition.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3paV7m_1Dj4AZeE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3paV7m_1Dj4AZeE00" width="1024" height="683" ></figure>To see more pictures of McCloud’s 79th Annual Lumberjack Fiesta, visit the McCloud Community Recreation Festival page on Facebook.</div></body>

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The 79th Lumberjack Fiesta went off without a hitch, drawing many people to the little town of McCloud over the weekend. Festivities kicked off Friday night at Hoo Hoo Park with the Little Miss Fiesta/Little Logger contest, followed by dancing led by Geeia DJ’ing “WildWoman Sound.” She has been announcing the parade and other festival events since 2009. The Papa Anderson Memorial Softball Tournament also began Friday night with 13 teams this season. An Axe Throwing Clinic for children, sponsored by Precision Axes, was held Friday evening and has become very popular.

The 79th Lumberjack Fiesta Will Continue On

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The 79th Lumberjack Fiesta went off without a hitch, drawing many people to the little town of McCloud over the weekend. Festivities kicked off Friday nigh

The 79th Lumberjack Fiesta Will Continue On

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