Young and old enjoyed their time on the dance floor during the ninth Annual Beaver Dam Jam held at the Beaver Dam Station May 6-8. Photo by Teri Nehrenz.
The ninth annual Beaver Dam Jam began slowly on Friday, May 6 due to impending rain that never came to the Arizona Strip. The only rain that fell on the Friday night crowd consisted of a few sprinkles but nothing that was going to spoil the fun of Bill Evans, founder and producer of the Beaver Dam Jam. His crew and many folks have been ‘jamming’ for years like Wendy Brown and Ron Lourenco who have attended the past three years. This year their fur baby Tazer accompanied them for the fun.
Saturday brought about a large crowd of people ready to soak up the sunshine, food and fun. The day began with the traditional lawn mower races and continued through the day with several bands from Utah, Arizona and California. Vendors selling t-shirts, jewelry and hummingbird feeders set up, free of charge, to sell their wares to the partying crowd. Every year brings a hot dog stand set up to raise funds for the local schools and this year was no exception.
Wendy Brown and Ron Lourenco who have been coming to ‘jam’ for the past three years brought their fur baby Tazer with them for the fun. Photo by Teri Nehrenz.
In years past temperatures have topped 100 degrees or more but this year the temperatures were perfect, cool with light breezes. There was no need to set up misters that were a large part of making the crowd comfortable during those sweltering hot days. People enjoyed the variety of music from country blues to rock-n-roll long into the nights, no sweat.
Campers came in RV’s for their weekend stay with free camping. Evans never created the Beaver Dam Jam to be a personal money maker. He created the jam so the high school could raise funds for the sports and other programs and so the people of the Arizona Strip had something to do “just for fun.” Evans gives everybody else the opportunity to make money by allowing them to set up for free, camp for free and take home all the money they make. It’s his way of giving back to the community that he says has been so good to him.
Bill Evans introduces the band one more time before they begin the last song of the weekend. He also thanks the crowd for joining him and his crew for the ninth annual Beaver Dam Jam held May 6-8 at the Beaver Dam Station. Photo by Teri Nehrenz
