The weather was beautiful for this year’s Armed Forces Day weekend (for most of it), and all events went off without a hitch. Here are some 2024 AFD highlights:
FRIDAY
Chili Cookoff at Barley’s Sports Bar
James and Ashley Christie won the Chili Cookoff at Barleys, taking home the 1st place $150 prize. Oscar Barry and Corinne Sterns came in second place.
“I think the winning ingredients were beer, chocolate, and the smoked tri-tip,” Ashley said. They filled a 16-quart pot of it, using spices that were grown from their home garden. James explained that he smoked the tri-tip for two-and-a-half hours and let it sit for 15-20 minutes before chopping it up and adding it to the pot.
Live Music at Gil’s Place and El Capitan
Gil’s Place had music all weekend long, and on Friday Cody Wayne and January Baker played acoustic country, rock, and country-rock hits. Pool was played, drinks were drunk, and dancers danced. Later that day, Dock 6 took the big stage at El Capitan to play classic hits to the tune of Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Eagles, Sublime, The Beatles, and more, to a nice-sized crowd.
Fireworks at El Cap
At 9 p.m., the El Capitan put on a spectacular 10-minute fireworks show from its rooftop as hundreds of people watched from below.
SATURDAY
Breakfast pizza and Bloody Mary’s at Old Nevada Pizza
People filtered in and out of Old Nevada Pizza between 8-11 a.m. to get biscuits and gravy and/or a slice of breakfast pizza topped with cheese, white sauce, egg, onion, bell pepper, and bacon. At 9:30 a.m., the cashier Olivia said they had already gone through three pizzas. A Bloody Mary bar was set up outside, and people came to it either wanting to cure their hangover or start one. The Bloody Mary was a meal in itself, garnished with a slice of salami, cherry tomato, slice of chorizo, olive, yellow pepper, and two kinds of cheese.
Car show at Joe’s Tavern parking lot
Across the street from Old Nevada about 20 classic cars were on display, including the famous yellow 1932 Ford Deuce Coupe featured in the movie “American Graffiti”.
High Desert Art Show at the Mineral County Library
A few blocks down at the end of town, the High Desert Art Show was going on at the Mineral County Library as floats lined up for the noon parade. Once inside the library’s air-conditioned doors, a hundred or so art pieces of all different mediums were on display, many with ribbons on them. Some featured artists included: Kim Tontimonia, Gladys Porter, Dea Hamrey, Janya Lee Erwin, Mark Faulstich, Nancy Williams, Kathy Trujillo, Laura Bateman, and Don Banfield.
Parade on Main Street
The TOPGUN pilots performed a flyover to kick off the parade, and then more than 50 entries made their way down to Veterans Park. The Yerington HS Marching Band played; Hawthorne Little League players were flossing on their float; red, white & blue Mustangs drove by; the Filipino American Community of Hawthorne gave a performance; and Cecil the Serpent had smoke coming out of her nostrils, to name a few parade entries. In staying with tradition, parade attendees helped carry the Big Flag down to Veterans Park and sent it up the flagpole. Meanwhile, a water balloon race ensued between local kids and the Mineral County green fire truck at the end of the parade route.
Ribs at the VFW
The VFW was packed with people after the parade, many yearning to get their hands on a rack of ribs. They started serving rib meals at 1 p.m., and by 2 p.m. they were sold out. They had done 100 servings of ribs that day, and 60-80 the day before.
Arm wrestling at Barley’s
Over on Main Street, the Arm Wrestling League championships were going on. Around a hundred people competed between Friday and Saturday, including six women (one who is on the US Team and will be competing in a Worlds event in Greece this September). Those in the Open Men class got medals and cash money. Arm Wrestling League organizers Billy and Ginger Collins said that people from eight different states (and one person from Armenia) came to Hawthorne to arm wrestle that weekend.
“We have a lot of guys who follow us around,” Billy says. “Once arm wrestling gets in their blood then it doesn’t matter how much money is involved,” he adds.
Rock painting table at 5th and D Street
Even though the wind was kicking some clouds into town, it didn’t stop kids from enjoying the Splash Pad and bounce houses on 5th and D Street. Many rocks were painted to support Cecil the Serpent’s upkeep, too.
SUNDAY
Bighorns & Buses campers pack up and head out
Heading north out of town on Sunday morning, the Bighorns & Buses crew was busy packing up. It was a gorgeous sunny day to end a packed three-day weekend. Organizer Jason Cardenas said that they had 13 VW buses show up (a few that were in the parade), which is a great turnout for its inaugural year. People came from Reno, Sacramento, Riverside, Gardnerville, and Dayton to camp out at Walker Lake all weekend. Bighorn Crossing was the host venue and supported the event. “We’re definitely going to do it again next year. Everyone who showed up was really happy and had a good time,” Cardenas said.
