BElOIT — Large trucks, honking their horns, toss candy out of their windows as kids rush into the street to quickly pick up the sweet treats and fill their bags.
The smell of fried food and funnel cakes, and the sounds of joyous screams fill the air from the mouths of the riders on the tilt-a-whirl. These were just some of the things to be expected at the town of Turtle’s Shopiere Days on June 23-24.
The mini-carnival featured rides like the tilt-a-whirl, a small ferris wheel, games, food, music, tractor pulls, fireworks and more; all centered around Sweet-Allyn Park. People walked around with large corn dogs, buckets of fries and chicken nuggets on a stick. One child observed begged their parents to ride the rides or play the carnival games.
Shopiere Days is an event that dates back to the 1950s and started to celebrate Independence Day, with a twist, according to the website. It is a long-held tradition in southern Rock County. Previous Shopiere Days events included horse pulls, a bridge dance, combined demolition derbies, bed races, duck races, tug-o-war and more.
The fun started at 5:30 a.m. on Friday and ran through the weekend. On Sunday, the softball tournament started at 8 a.m. There was a Car and Tractor Show that went from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On Sunday, there was a noon parade. Many different community groups and businesses were featured in the parade such as Johnson Tractor, the Hahn Family, many John Deere tractors and various local towing companies.
Events Committee President Bill Perkins said this could be the most amount of parade entries in years.
The carnival was open from noon to 10 p.m., with the band Dirt Road Rebelz performing music in the park from 1 to 4 p.m. and the Zac Matthews Band from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Tyana Grams had forgotten about the event because she hadn’t been in a few years. She remembered watching the parade and thought that it would be fun for her and her kids. She was also looking forward to seeing the fireworks.
Krystina Schumer said as a Shopiere native, she has been going to the event since she was a baby.
“I was excited to be able to share this with my boys and take them like my parents took me,” she said.
Schumer said she was looking forward to the fireworks. Every year, people come from all over the place to see them and it gets “pretty packed” in the park, she said.
Schumer added that her son loved the motorcycle ride.
Shopiere Days concluded with fireworks after the sun went down.
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