Mountain Jubilee was lots of fun

Article and photo by Alex Colvin 6/30/15 – Copy

Nathan Dougherty of Burney 4H explains about chickens

Residents, businesses, and organizations of the Fall River Valley and surrounding areas joined together to create a wonderful Mountain Jubilee. The three-day display of Inter-Mountain culture and activities was organized by the Inter-Mountain Fair Heritage Foundation and took place at the fairgrounds in McArthur from Friday June 25^th to Sunday June 27^th.

Susan Hanson of Fall River displays her photos of the Intermountain Area

Overall, the Jubilee offered everyone an opportunity to experience a broad range of intermountain life including trail rides, barrel racing, team roping, a small animal show and a horseshoe tournament. There was also a country craft show, an antique show, and a big ball tournament. Friday and Saturday both ended with a delicious barbecue in the evening and live music till midnight

Who will plop first

A sense of country fun and humor enlivened many of the activities. Horses Assists Lives Organization had apony plop bingo. People could win a prize by guessing where one of two ponies would first drop its manure in a fenced area.

A highlight of Saturday afternoon was the mud races.

Getting down and dirty at the mud races

Contestants of all ages wore attire ranging from tutus to Hawaiian skirts. One man was dressed in a banana costume.  Racers slid into a pool of mud, climbed through muddy tractor tires and culvert pipes, and shimmied through muck under bannered ropes. They then ran a course through the entire fairgrounds before crossing the finish line back in the arena.

After the mud races the fun continued with a blow fish race and adults racing on tricycles. In the blow fish races, contestants competed by blowing bubbles to guide small fish down a narrow channel of water over the finish line.

This was the third annual Mountain Jubilee organized by the Inter-Mountain Heritage Foundation. The proceeds from the jubilee go towards maintaining and improving the fairgrounds and supporting the Inter-Mountain Fair that will be held from September 3^rd to September 7^th.

Alex Colvin is co-owner of The Lace Gallery in Burney, California. He previously wrote for non-profit corporations in the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area. Since returning to Burney, where he has deep family roots, Alex and his wife Linda have dedicated themselves to exploring and photographing the natural beauty of Northern California.