Independence Day in the Upper Blackfoot

This year, with COVID-19 restrictions lifted across Montana, the Fourth of July events returned to communities across the state this weekend, but the competition didn’t seem to do much to dampen Lincoln’s busiest weekend.

Although there is no confirmed count of the number of visitors who arrived in town for the annual Independence Day Parade, which coincides with the first day of the Lincoln Rodeo, downtown Lincoln was awash with visitors, who lined Main Street from First Avenue on the west end of town, to Hooper park on the east end.

This year also saw a noticeable increase in participation, with more local organizations taking part to celebrate and “Let the Good Times Roll.”

Last year, COVID-19 concerns prompted parade organizers to extend the parade route east to Sucker Creek road, to prevent congestion in the park from the parade entries. The change proved more efficient, and was used again this year

However, the length of the parade also raised concerns, since large gaps developed between several of the entries, causing the progress of the parade to push beyond the 30 minutes allowed in the Montana Department of Transportation parade permit, which allows Lincoln to close Highway 200 for the annual parade.

The cause of the delays weren’t readily apparent, although some entries moved slower than expected, even at top speed, while others were slowed by interactions with the crowd.

Lewis and Clark county Sheriff Leo Dutton, who took part in the parade, walked back along the route after completing the route. He expressed his concern about the gaps and that the parade was going over its allotted time.

The delay was exacerbated as some vehicles, joined by parade entries that had finished the route, mistakenly began heading back into town on Main street before Lincoln’s fire trucks, which were bringing up the rear of the parade, had reached Lincoln School.

After the parade, the 69th Annual Lincoln Rodeo got underway at the Rodeo grounds.

“It’s been good for what I thought it would be from last year, when we were one of only two, I think,” said Rodeo Club Secretary Sharla Lewenight. “I think we’re doing pretty good for our whole crowd.”

This year, the Lincoln Rodeo faced stiffer competition than in the past as some communities moved their rodeos up to earlier in the year, while others rearranged their slack schedules.

“I think we’ve been good so far this year, for all the other rodeos there were, new rodeos that were happening later on in the year, but now they’re doing them earlier. That kind of put a damper on things,” she said.

She said their contestants were down this year from the past, with a lot of them taking part in slack in the morning before heading off to compete in other rodeos. The result led to sparse competition in the bronc riding events and in tie-down roping, which saw no competitors on hand for Sundays main event.

Nevertheless, Lewenight was optimistic about the turnout.

“I’m not disappointed with what we’ve got. I’m really not. The crowd today I thought was going to be way less,” she said Sunday, a day that in past years has often seen a noticeable drop in attendance.

“A lot more volunteers, which is great,” she said. “Can’t complain. Definitely can’t complain.”

An new addition to the rodeo this year came in the form of several camouflage nets on loan from Helmville’s Jake Geary.

The nets were large enough to cover the entire area from the concession stand out to the arena fence, and provided plenty of shade and ventilation for spectators. They were particularly popular during the heat of the day Saturday, providing a skewed impression of how many people actually attended the rodeo. Historically, the size of the crowd on the hillside above the arena provided a pretty good visual gauge for attendance, but this year it seemed pretty empty because so many people took advantage of the shade.

Lewenight said the camo nets were popular enough that the Rodeo Club may look into finding some to purchase themselves, and may even look into finding smaller nets that could be used to provide shade for spectators on the hillside.

“It’s busy under there again today,” she said, though Sunday’s slightly cooler temperatures prompted more people to watch from the hillside.

Lewenight said preparation for this year’s rodeo was less hectic than in past years, due in part to their decision to bring in food trucks, rather than operate the concession stand themselves.

“It went so much smoother than in the 16 years I’ve been doing it,” she said, noting they had about the same amount of help getting ready this year, but had more volunteers come out to help work the rodeo.

Lewenight also took the opportunity to tamp out the rumor that there are plans to sell the Rodeo Grounds, which has been making the rounds in the last couple of years.

“It’s not sold. It’s not going to be sold,” she said, and expressed her gratitude for the help they’ve received.

“Thank you to the whole town of Lincoln for your support and to everybody who came in from out of town, thank you for your support. Our ambulance crew has been great.”

The Lincoln Valley Chamber of commerce capped off the holiday weekend with its annual fireworks display, which had the usual competition from the sheer volume and sized of the private fireworks set off in the Hooper Park ball fields. The LVCC show, featuring professional fireworks, lasted about 15 minutes, but the personal displays at the park began earlier in the evening and lasted later into the night.

There were no reports of any fire starts in the Lincoln area associated with the fireworks this year

Last year, Lincoln was one of just a few communities in the state to host a full slate of Independence Day events, during the COVID-19 pandemic., including the parade, rodeo and fireworks,

The decision to move forward with the events last year resulted not only in concern from county health officials amid fears of a possible ‘super spreader’ event, but also led to a massive influx of visitors looking to celebrate the nations birthday amid an onslaught of dire warnings and tightening restrictions throughout spring and early summer last year. Althoug Lewis and Clark County did see an uptick in COVID cases after the Fourth, none of them were definitively traced back to Lincoln’s events.

See more photos at : https://www.blackfootvalleydispatch.com/photos