The streets were packed with people of all ages Thursday night for the PVFD Homecoming Fair and Street Carnival.
By: Jennifer Britt
Parsons’ lawyer
Parsons Volunteer Fire Department’s Homecoming Fair week kicked off Tuesday with a night full of family fun at the Parsons Fire Department’s open house. Over 200 children and families enjoyed hotdogs provided by Kingsford Manufacturing, bounce houses, fire safe house, face painting, cotton candy from the PVFD Ladies Auxiliary, Tucker County 4H popcorn and, of course everyone could see all the fire trucks and the station.
The streets of downtown Parsons were packed Wednesday night. Wristband Night brought many people young and old to enjoy carnival rides on the Midway provided by Gambill Amusements, the famous Kiwanis corndogs, street food and carnival games.
Thursday night was a repeat of the fun with the addition of the nightly open mic karaoke contest with cash prizes sponsored by the City of Parsons. PVFD sponsored tent bingo in the streets. There were also raffles for guns and quilts.
Six contestants entered the karaoke competition which was hosted by Mistee Griffith and DJ’d by Danny Barkley. After the first round of contestants, Brandi Kopec, Danny Barkley, Michael Fulton and Noah “Mucker” Rhoades moved on to the second round. The final three contestants were Kopec, Fulton and Barkley. Kopec took first, Fulton second and Barkley third. Each contestant won a cash prize and was judged by Dave Stevens, owner of music store The Music Center: A Plus Guitars in Parsons, Sandra Mason of the Tucker County Family Resource Network and Diana Deluca of Pro On- track
Friday night continued with midway rides, carnival food and entertainment was provided by Brandon Laxton and Tupelo Drive on the main stage and sponsored by the City of Parsons.
Saturday could have been a downpour with the parade and all the fair events cancelled, but one competition stuck it out in the rain. The Kingsford Pitmaster competition was held in the Stevens’ Realty parking lot. Contestants competed in three different divisions. The three divisions were pork chops, chicken and a one-bite challenge. All participants were required to provide their own equipment, grill and sauce. All meat and charcoal were provided courtesy of Kingsford Manufacturing Company.
Marcus Mullenax and Dillon Knots placed first in the ribs division. Greg Knots and Michael Eye placed first in the chicken division. Jack Plum and Colin Lantz won the one-bite challenge and were crowned grand champions.
This year’s fair was smaller than usual, but with the COVID-19 pandemic shutting things down for the past two years, it’s taking time to get things back to the way they were.
