The contrast of young kids competing to eat watermelon fastest while their granddads and uncles participated in an ear-splitting chainsaw competition a few yards away personifies the tradition of Escalante Days.
This former logging and railroad town holds tradition close to its chest, whether it's stained with watermelon or covered in sawdust.
"I love that it's family-oriented," says Brooke Riffle, watching her young son, Donte, chow down with a dozen other smiling kids sitting on the Central Avenue curb. "Next it's an ice-cream eating contest. There's stuff for kids to do."
And for adults, too, who flexed their egos in softball games and at an arm-wrestling contest on a raised platform while a crowd of hundreds cheers and jeers them on.
A nearby beer tent fueled the crowd's energy, but never got out of hand, says Montezuma County sheriff Steve Nowlin.
"There were no problems or fights or over-serving. Our DUI checkpoint above Dolores yielded no drunk driving arrests," he said. "We saw a lot of designated drivers shuttling people back and forth, and I'm proud to see that our message is getting through."
Dozens of vendors set up in Flanders Park, creating a colorful and bustling marketplace.
"It's going good. We heard about it and came up from Rock Point, Arizona," said vendor Quintana Banbraidge, who was selling handmade silver jewelry and Native American crafts.
Later on, as the sun set at the Dolores River Brewery, adults and kids swayed to the rhythm of roots Reggae performed by the band Niceness, from Telluride. Singer Koral Delatierra performed a reggae birthday song for a young girl in the crowd who clambered up on stage and danced with her mom.
Three years ago, Escalante Days added "and Nights" to spice up the evening with "10 bands, for 10 hours, for 10 bucks."
"From 2 p.m. to midnight, we had nonstop music, alternating on two outdoor stages," said promoter Aaron Lemay, of Inner Orbit Sound. "We're all having a blast."
Throughout it all, the Dolores All School Reunion went off without a hitch, said organizer Santiago Lopez.
More than 300 alumni attended a moving ceremony at the Dolores High School gym. There were speeches by local dignitaries, an emotional video tribute honoring local veterans, and many awards were presented.
The award for longest-married couple went to John and Doris Butler, age 64, while Victor Sundquist (Class of 1938) and Annabel Stickle (Class of 1939) were honored as oldest alumni.
Jonnie Ryan, a recently retired teacher and librarian, was honored as well. She taught language arts at Dolores Middle School for 24 years, and was the librarian since 2010.
Frank Lopez, who retired as head maintenance for Dolores Schools, was also honored. After graduating in 1984, Lopez began working for the school, and has been there ever since.
"He dedicated his entire life to our school district, getting up before the crack of dawn to make sure the buildings were warm and ready for the school kids on cold winter mornings," said his brother, Santiago Lopez.
"Reunion," a song written by Bob McKee about Dolores Schools was presented to the crowd. It goes in part:
"All the things that we used to do, float down the river on an old innertube, painting the tank, or climbin the hill, and hanging out over at Bill Wagner's after school.
"There was all that we needed at Taylor's Hardware store, just step over the dogs as you walked in the door, there was Akin's, Kinkade's, and Becher's and Tade's, all gone now, except the memories that stayed."
Later on, 70 alumni danced the night away to classic rock virtuoso Ralph Dinosaur, who performed at the Dolores Community Center.
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com
