Diamond Daze kicks off 19th festival

In the wake of Wednesday’s tornado warnings for Sequoyah County and one of the wettest Aprils on record, mostly sunny skies and near-perfect temperatures are expected for this weekend’s 19th Diamond Daze festival in downtown Sallisaw.

Festivalgoers will have plenty from which to choose, with live entertainment, barbecue cookoff and taster kits, car show and swap meet, hot dog-eating contest, and the second annual Diamond Daze pageants featuring 11 different agegroup categories for girls and boys. The festivities begin at 11 a.m. today when Sallisaw Main Street’s iconic Pink Pig food truck will be serving Indian tacos adjacent to the Pocket Park. Street games begin at 5 p.m. at Stage Park, and will feature singo, a music-based version of bingo, where players listen to snippets of songs and mark off matching song titles on their computer- generated cards.

Live entertainment begins at 6 p.m. today with the return of Ted Capps & Rude Mood, followed at 8:30 p.m. by Kanton Teen & the Penny Pickers. Both concerts are at Pocket Park.

The Big Toy Museum, located in the old middle school on South Main Street at West Creek Avenue, will be open this evening and on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday’s activities begin at 7 a.m. with a pancake breakfast served at the Masonic Lodge, 109 E. Redwood Avenue. A fun run/ walk is scheduled for 8 a.m. at the Old Sallisaw High School Rotunda Park, West Creek Avenue and South Walnut Street, followed at 8:30 a.m. with the 5K Wings race, sponsored by the Cherokee Nation.

Also beginning bright and early are two community events not associated with Diamond Daze, but which piggyback off the influx of thousands of people. The farmers market is available at the corner of Cherokee Avenue and Elm Street, and the citywide garage sale attracts its share of bargain hunters.

The Diamond Daze pageants get underway at 9 a.m. at Stage Park, and continue all day, capped by the crowning of the second Miss Diamond Daze.

The 3-on-3 basketball tournament begins at 9 a.m. at Sallisaw Middle School, and stickball debuts at 10 a.m. on a field north of the middle school.

One of the main attractions are the vendors, with up to 150 tents jamming the downtown streets. “There’ll be lots of vendors,” says Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marty Green. “It’s like going to the state fair. You just never know what’s around the next corner. And the food, fair food is wonderful, and there’s variety.”

Green says festivalgoers will find everything from beef jerky to knives, woodworking, arts and crafts “and a lot of shirt people. I can’t even imagine all the stuff that will be out there.”

He also says there’s a wide variety of food available — fair food, hamburgers, turkey legs, “different food than people might normally eat,” food trailers, cupcakes, cookies, drinks, “you name it. There’s just everything in the world.”

Christian Mayberry from Muldrow will have a booth this year to promote his upcoming documentary, “A Story of Faith, Resilience and Miracles,” a 10-year labor of love for him and his mother, Kim.

The car show is on Chickasaw Avenue, and will “extend a block farther this year towards Elm in front of the courthouse, so we’re hopefully going to have two blocks full of cars,” Green says. An addition to the car show is a swap meet, where car enthusiasts can purchase car parts and memorabilia. The swap meet is in the parking lot east of the courthouse adjacent to the car show.

The full day of festival activities then shifts into high gear with:

• Cherokee Nation Youth Choir at 10:30 a.m. at Pocket Park

• Children’s zone opens at 11 a.m. on Choctaw Avenue between Oak and Elm streets

• Barbecue taster kits go on sale at 11 a.m. on the library lawn. “I tell you, it’s good eating. You can eat ’til you pass out. It’s a bargain; drinks included,” Green says.

• Bingo begins at 11:30 a.m. at Pocket Park

• Libby Starks Band at 12:45 p.m. at Stage Park

• Middle School Jazz Band at 1 p.m. at Pocket Park

• Barbecue contest awards at 2 p.m. at Pocket Park

• Car show awards at 2 p.m. on Chickasaw Avenue

• Chet’s Dairy Freeze hot dog-eating contest at 2:30 p.m. at Stage Park.  Last year’s inaugural winner, Jason Janway, devoured 14 hot dogs in 15 minutes.

• Canyon Sons Band at 2:30 p.m. at Pocket Park

• Mr. Cabbagehead & the Screaming Radishes at 4 p.m. at Stage Park

• Drake Hyde at 7 p.m. at Stage Park