Chaffee German Days to offer everything from pageants to polka

Chaffee German Days is an annual festival that brings the town together.

Beginning with fried chicken and beer at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at Frisco Park in Chaffee, Missouri, the event runs all day and night until Randy Elfrank kills the music at midnight Saturday.

The weekend celebration has an event for everybody, from polka dancing to amusement rides for the children and a variety of tournaments for adults, Chaffee German Days committee member Tom Cunningham said.

"It's just a time when everybody comes together to celebrate," Cunningham said.

The Chaffee Elks coordinate the weekend, but committee member Billy Van Pelt said it's really a community-wide effort to make the weekend a success.

A variety of organizations sponsor tournaments, competitions or food stands, and those profits go back to assisting the organizations throughout the year.

Cunningham said there's a variety of foods for people to enjoy, including fried chicken, bratwurst and if they're lucky, German potato salad.

The annual Chaffee German Days Pageant will begin at 6 p.m. Aug. 14 with multiple categories.

The youngest is age 0 to 12 months, and the oldest is ninth- through 12th-grade girls.

The pageants for children ages 9 and younger are co-ed. The entry fee is $15 for ages 0 to 13 and $25 for ninth through 12th grade.

Deadline for entry is Aug. 10, and entry forms can be picked up at the Chaffee Banking Center or Chaffee City Hall. This year's theme is "casual summer wear."

The talent show sponsored by Heartland Talent Showcase will take place at 5 p.m Aug. 15.

Registration is $20, and there are three divisions: junior, intermediate and senior.

To register, call Marlene Creech Dudley at 979-2291 or Darlene Vandenven at 318-5645.

Always popular events are the washers tournament, cornhole tournament and wooden-bat softball tournament.

Van Pelt reminded softball teams to sign up early if they want to ensure their spots.

"Softball is always a big draw," he said. "If there's good weather, at most, we can have eight teams play, but most years, we have so many teams call that we can't take them all."

For more information on Chaffee German Days, call city hall at 573-887-3558.

smaue@semissourian.com.

388-3644

Pertinent address:

Frisco Park, Chaffee, Missouri

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Schedule of events:

2015 Chaffee German Days Schedule of Events

Aug. 14

• Chaffee Elks Chicken Stand *-- 4:30 to 10 p.m.
• Chaffee Elks Beer Stand *--4:30 p.m. to midnight
• Chaffee German Day Pageant *-- starts at 6 p.m.
• H & H Amusement Carnival rides *-- 6 to 10 p.m.
• Wooden Bat Softball Tournament *-- 6:30 p.m.
• Cornhole Tournament *-- 6:30 p.m. signup 7 p.m. start
• Excalibur Sound System *-- 8 p.m. to midnight

Aug. 15

• Wooden Bat Softball Tournament *-- 9:30 a.m.
• Chaffee Elks Greased Pole Contest *-- All day until the money is gone
• SEMO Swamp Rats: A German Polka Band *-- noon to 1 p.m.
• Classy Chassy band *-- 1 to 3 p.m.
• Washer Tournament *-- 2:30 p.m. signup 3 p.m. start
• Talent Show *-- 5 p.m.
• H & H Amusement Carnival rides *-- 6 to 10 p.m.
• Cornhole Tournament *-- Immediately after the finish of the washer tournament. Bring your own partner.
• Renegade Sound System by Randy Elfrank *-- 8 p.m. to midnight