Chamber Chimes

In case you haven't heard, I have news on Watonga Cheese.  Last week, exactly on the third anniversary of the storm that took out our very own Watonga Cheese Factory, the new Watonga Cheese Factory (in Perryton, TX) passed their final inspection.  They received their first milk shipment on Monday and began making cheese!  I've been in touch with Brandi Cowan and she is certain that we will not only have their cheese for the Watonga Cheese Festival, but that we should have it available very soon at their local retail outlet, located in Jacky's Lawn & Lube.

So if your taste buds have not been satisfied for 3 years,  you won't have much longer to wait until they are.

OK, are you looking for the notification about the August entertainment night and wondering if you missed it?  Well fear not, you haven't missed anything.  August is such a busy month that the Cheese Festival Entertainment Committee decided to skip it and are busily planning an evening for September.  Between the Lions Golf Tournament,  the Main Street Invitational Golf Tournament last week, and the Blaine County Free Fair this week, they figured you all have plenty to keep you busy for a few weeks.  I hope you were able to enjoy some of these events and are planning on a great time at the fair, I know I am!  Keep watching for information on the September entertainment - I have a feeling it will be a good one!

The Cheese Festival is only 6 weeks away, can you believe that?  Many of our wonderful sponsors have begun sending in donations to help support this event and we could not be more thankful.  Those donations help offset the numerous costs of this great festival including tents and port-a-potties, entertainment, advertising and much more.  It allows us to market the festival (and Watonga) to a wider base of people, giving us the opportunity to introduce our great community to them.  We hope that you too can help support this event in whatever way best suits you.  Whether it is volunteering, spreading the word or just attending, we hope you embrace that which we are known for and help make it the best it can be.  Also, you will be seeing the names of our sponsors around the festival and in printed publications.  Please remember how those businesses give back to their community and return the favor.  Remember that One Hand Washes the Other.

There was a lot of bustling around town this weekend with the Watonga Community reunion,  the Frontier Rodeo and the Ryan Bergland Memorial Golf Tournament.  It was nice to have so many one-time-residents excited to be back for visits and see all the happy families enjoying each other's company.  I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and has a safe trip home. In little more than a week, Watonga Main Street will host dozens of people for the Annual FUNdraiser Invitational Golf Tournament.  If you haven't already reserved your spot, do so as soon as possible as they fill up fast.

The tournament is on Saturday the 21st so give Bob a call at 623-2200 to register or ask any questions.  Let's see - a fun day of golf with your friends, followed by Roberta's famous Shrimp Boil, all for a good cause - how can you go wrong with that?!

With the temperature as hot as it's been, now is a great time to stay inside and work on projects.  And just in time for the fair, too!  Whether you bake, can, crochet, sew or do other arts or crafts, the fair is the opportunity you need to show off your handiwork.  Fairs in America have long been a tradition of community gathering to display and trade the fruits of their labors.  Whether that be the animals they have raised, the crops they have harvested or the industrious and often highly skilled crafts that have been created in the previous year, it used to be THE place to show off what you could do.  Come celebrate the hardworking, inventive spirit that epitomizes those that built this part of the country and see how much great skill we still have available in our community.  The fair will be August 27-28, with entries accepted Thursday evening and Friday morning.  What are you bringing to the fair?

Cheese Festival preparations are moving into high gear now, with less than 2 months to go before the big weekend.  We will be bringing back some old favorites, including the flea market and an antique booth area.  We are still looking for volunteers and would love to have you involved in whatever way best suits you.  If you want to help beforehand in the planning and setup or just want to spend a couple hours during the event sharing your smiling face with the attendees, give the Chamber a call at 623-5452 so we can start finding you a spot.  Also, if you are traveling out of town for an event where you think you could drop off some brochures, let us know and we'd be happy to send some along with you.  Ask around Oklahoma and you will realize that the Watonga Cheese Festival is what we are known for, so the more help we get, the better it can be and the better that reflects on Watonga.  The more the merrier...

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