The 39th Annual Escalante Days celebration in Dolores is ready to go.
Vendors set up in Flanders Park at noon Friday. .
One of the main events, the 17th annual Escalante Days Mountain Bike Race, is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 8. The race, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dolores, will begin at 9:50 a.m. from Sixth Street and Central Avenue.
There will be three courses with prizes for each class. The expert course is 35 miles, sport course is 21 miles, and the beginner course is 13 miles. All courses ride along Boggy Draw Trail.
The registration fee is $40, and interested riders can register online at www.Active.com until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 6, or register in person the day of the event between 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. for $50.
This year's mountain bike race is taking a new route, so the winner in the expert class will take home $1,000 for setting a record time.
Day and night of music
In addition to the traditional events, Dolores River Brewery will host the third annual Escalante Days and Nights music festival, with live music beginning Saturday at 2 p.m. and running through midnight, at the Dolores River Brewery's indoor and outdoor stages 10 bands, 10 hours, $10.
The bands are Brad Sitton, Carcosa, Last Nickel, Michael Pak, Niceness, O & Co., Stanley Maynard McNeil, Sweet Water Station, The Wedding is Off, and Wake Up Laughing.
The five-year reunion
Coinciding with Escalante Days is the Dolores All School Reunion, which celebrates classes dating to before 1939.
The reunion takes place every five years, and all events are open to the public. Organizer Santiago Lopez said more than 350 people have pre-registered, up from 172 in 2010. The reunion's Facebook page states that 863 alumni have been contacted.
Alumni are coming in from all over, including Australia, the Philippines, Alaska, Kentucky, Oregon, Washington, Texas and Arizona.
This year's alumni royalty are Victor Sundquist (Class of 1938), Annabelle Stickle (1939), Ruby Gonzales (1949), Jeanne Smith (1946), and MaryAnn Findley (1965).
Football teams hold fundraisers
Coach James Biard and the middle school football team are joining with the middle school girls basketball team for their fundraising event.
The two teams have had a tree donated to be planted next to the Josh Everin Memorial and will sell raffle tickets, with the chosen winner to have his/her name included on the plaque dedicating the tree.
They will also be raffling off handmade goods included knives, hatchets and a lamp.
The teams will donate part of the money raised to either Wounded Warrior Project or the Disabled Veterans Foundation, then the football team will use funds for shoulder pads and the basketball team for shooting shirts.
Coach Chris Trusler and the high school football team will be working at the concession stand at the softball fields in Dolores during the tournament on Saturday and Sunday.
They will be selling baked goods, hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks, with money raised going towards new equipment and to aid with the cost of the football fieldhouse renovation.
K-9 fundraiser
There will also be a pancake fundraiser for K9 Search and Rescue on Saturday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the "Dog House" next to the Dolores Fire Station at 35 Railroad Ave. The cost is $5 per plate.