LE ROY — For years, the annual Le Roy Homecoming celebration would draw throngs. “But in the past few years, it really had started to slow down,” said Dinna Salava, one of this year’s organizers.
To combat the trend, officials have arranged a weekend crammed with activities.
This year’s event — “Country Roads Lead Me Home” — begins Saturday at 7:30 a.m. with a Homecoming Hustle fun run that starts at Le Roy Elementary School. Kids games and a play area open at 9.
Several day-long activities are planned. Inflatables, appealing to children of all ages, will be up Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday.
A car show runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, as do a quilt show and craft fair.
The second annual Pizza Parlor “Gut Buster” contest, in which competitors try to down the most slices of pizza, ensues at 11 a.m.
A climbing wall will be provided by the Kansas Army National Guard beginning at noon.
The homecoming parade begins at 1 p.m. At 2 p.m., visitors to Le Roy Library can learn about “Wings and Feet” when live owls, hawks and lizards are on display. A pie contest is 2 p.m., and a horse pull starts at 2:30, followed by a baby contest at 3.
A barbecue feed, provided by Le Roy Pride Committee, is planned at 5. Winners of the baby contest, pie contest, quilt show, parade and other drawings will be announced at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Pie entries will be auctioned off at 7.
Saturday’s schedule wraps up at 9 with a dance featuring “Retro Rockers” from Caney.
A COMMUNITY church service begins at 10 a.m. Sunday, followed by The Convincer, a Kansas Highway Patrol exhibit at noon. Also at noon are turtle races.
A pedal pull for those 4-12 starts at 1 p.m. as does a horseshoe pitch, archery contest and hay bale toss.
At 2 o’clock is the Missouri State Tractor Pullers Association tractor pull. The tractor pull should have an extra large group of entrants, Salava said, because it’s the final competition of the year to earn points.
A greased pig contest immediately follows.
The final event, a “lyp sync” contest, is at 3.
ADMISSION TO the bulk of the Le Roy Homecoming activities is a button, available for $5 in advance or $6 at the gate. Wrist bands must be purchased to play on the inflatables, and tractor pull tickets sell for $10 in advance for adults and $5 for children 6-13. Admission at the gate goes to $12 and $6, respectively. The library exhibit is free.
Buttons, wristbands, tractor pull tickets and drawing entries can be purchased at Sticks & Weeds, True Enterprises, Pizza Parlor, Sunflower Cafe, Le Roy Bank and Le Roy Co-op.
For more information, call (620) 964-2109.
