The duet of Jaiden Juan and Christian Martinez wowed the audience with their rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah which the boys played on the guitar and cello. Photo by Teri Nehrenz
For the second-year Mesquite Days officially kicked off with an Old-Fashioned Family Fun Night set up at Old Mill Rd. ball fields.
The park was full of families just having the time of their lives making ice cream, playing games and visiting booths.
One of the two main hits of the evening were the Mesquite Police and their “Impaired Driving” vehicles which had a long line the entire night. From 5 p.m. to close Detectives Erickson and Alejos were kept busy all night. Photo by Teri Nehrenz
The night began with the final round of the Mesquite Idol competition. The first round having taken place the previous week and round two on Monday, May 1. The competition was fierce with judges having to eliminate over 20 people to get down to the 6 contestants who took the stage on Wednesday, May 3 for the final competition and the $500 cash prize. The prize went to two Virgin Valley High School students. The duet of Jaiden Juan and Christian Martinez wowed the audience with their rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah which the boys played on the guitar and cello.
The old-fashioned bake off didn’t happen this year due to lack of entries for the Dutch Oven/Iron Skillet desert theme for this year’s competition. Elspeth Kuta, co-organizer for the bake-off, helped satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth non-the-less by setting up a booth where anyone and everyone could join in the fun of making home-made ice cream.
There was no need to go hungry at this event, the Mesquite Fire Department made sure of that and cooked up a mess of hamburgers and hot dogs that had mouths watering and long lines forming.
Rigo Quintero leads his team in the tug-o-war over the muddy pit and hopes the anchor does his job so he doesn’t become the first man in the mud. Photo by Teri Nehrenz
The Concert on the Grass, sponsored by the Mesquite Arts Council, had some bad timing hit them with a negative beat. The concert was held at City Hall at the same time the Mesquite Idol Finals were happening at the ballfield. The original band that was to play at the Concert on the Grass cancelled at the last minute and the Virgin Valley High School Guitar band stepped up to the plate but to the chagrin of their parents and their teacher. The event wasn’t attended by more than a couple of people who weren’t directly related to the students; it was a truly heartbreaking experience for those involved.
The mud pit gathered some hot attendees who, even if they didn’t get pulled in by the rope, jumped in to cool off.
With a plethora of other activities to keep everyone entertained the night overall was a fitting celebration for the birth of our hometown and folks appeared to have a wonderful time. The two sure fire hits of the evening were the Mesquite Police and their “Impaired Driving” vehicles which had a long line the entire night. From 5 p.m. to close Detectives Erickson and Alejos were kept busy all night. Even after the rest of the crowd gathered at the mud pit, the detectives were still busy loading the kids up on the carts.
The mud pit gathered some hot attendees who, even if they didn’t get pulled in by the rope, jumped in to cool off. There was no lack of participation in this old-fashioned muddy event and the shrieks, squeals of delight and shrill screams could be heard clear across the park. The fight was to the finish or the fall (into the mud) or at least it was supposed to be. Krissy Thornton, organizer of the event, had ideas of her own. If they didn’t get pulled into the mud, Thornton figured she’d help them get over getting dirty and pushed them in; only a few survived her clutches.
All in all, the Family Fun Night was a bigger success than last year’s. It looks as if Old Fashioned Family Fun Night is here to stay and will be the event to kick off Mesquite Days for years to come.
