Janesville’s Hay Daze
celebration offered visitors a variety of events from June 10 to 16.
So did Mother Nature.
While starting off relatively dry, it rained nearly all day
Saturday, and that was followed by the hottest day of the year so far on the final day of the festivities.
The week kicked off with Simply Saved’s 11th Annual Fashion Show at the Trinity
Discipling Center on Monday, June 10. Since 2013, the thrift store has raised over $250,000 and awarded grants to several community organizations, businesses, and schools, such as Trinity Lutheran School. This year, they awarded over $45,000 in grants. Tuesday, June 11, featured Janesville Bowl’s annual moonlight-colored pin bowling.
The weather threatened to make the Hay Daze 5k run a little dicey on Wednesday, June 12. Rain and thunderstorms were forecast in the morning, and more rain chances were forecasted around 6 p.m. when participants were supposed to register. Thankfully, the evening ended partly cloudy with only a hint of humidity for the nearly hundred participants in the kids’ 1k and the 5k Fun Run and Walk.
Two main events of Hay Daze took place on Thursday, June 13: The Miss Janesville Pageant at the JWP Auditorium and Paradise City Wrestling’s Main Street Mayhem. It was PCW’s second visit to Janesville.
Friday was arguably the nicest day of Hay Daze, with sunny skies and the perfect weather for a golf tournament at Prairie Ridge Golf Course. It was also the first day for Crescent City Amusements to open its rides, and there was a lengthy line for tickets. Generation Gap began the first musical performance of the night with a packed crowd showing up to see IV Play on the Guardian Energy Stage. There were reports of a line of concert attendants starting from the chamber tent to the fire department before IV Play hit the stage.
Saturday featured a wet start to the morning. The rain held off for some time as Whispering Creek Nursing Home hosted the carnival and turtle races. Although rain continued on throughout the day, beanbag tournaments still went on as scheduled. As a precautionary measure for the impending rain, the Hay Daze committee decided the “show must go on” and moved the musical entertainment for the evening inside a tent onto a makeshift stage since the rain throughout the day made the Guardian Energy Stage too wet to play on.
Although the band Family Tradition had no problems playing their set, dark clouds loomed overhead during Junk FM’s soundcheck. Although they were able to play, the power cut out in the middle of their set, and heavy thunderstorms meant that crew members working in the tent had to work diligently to keep water from pooling on the tent edges and crashing in on the crowd.
While the power was restored, storms showed no signs of slowing down, and attendants were eventually escorted out of the tent. While some braved the heavy downpours and lightning, many attendants went to the Purple Goose to seek shelter and continue the party. The saloon was so packed that there were no seats to sit in and barely any room to walk through the bar.
Sunday saw a scorching end to Hay Daze, as the rain left the air humid and temperatures reached the mid-80s. The wind also came back for an appearance during the parade. The afternoon ended with some bingo and musical entertainment by members of the JWP Swing Show performing songs as solos, duets, or in groups.
While the weather certainly kept things interesting, Hay Daze was once again a great success, with hundreds in attendance throughout the week and about a thousand at the peak of all the activities during the weekend.
Separate briefs and reports on the Saved Fashion Show, the Miss Janesville Pageant, PCW’s Main Street Mayhem, the Turtle Races/Kiddie Carnival, and JWP musicians performing on stage will be in this week’s paper.
