A shriner pilots a plane down Main Street in Morton during the Loggers Jubilee parade on Saturday.
The Morton-White Pass fastpitch team took first place during the annual Bed Races in downtown Morton on Saturday.
A group of people ride in the scoop of a Caterpillar logging vehicle during a parade on Saturday before the annual Morton Loggers Jubilee logging competition.
Mike Johnson, left, slips off a log while Carsen Monaghan, right, maintains his balance at the 75th annual Morton Loggers Jubilee on Sunday.
Carsen Monaghan, left center, and Rob Waibel, far left, pull the pike poles as Eric Hoberg, right center, falls from a log while going against Cody Labahn during the Birling competition finals at the 75th annual Morton Loggers Jubilee on Sunday. Cody took 5th place and Eric took 6th.
Jake Lind slips from about 60 feet in the air during the Speed Climb competition on Sunday at the 75th annual Loggers Jubilee in Morton. Lind suffered from nothing but having the wind knocked out of him.
The 76th annual “Granddaddy of all Logging Shows” is set to take over the town of Morton from Thursday through Sunday.
The Loggers’ Jubilee often brings more than 8,000 visitors into Morton, population 1,150, to watch or compete in trials including ax throwing, speed climbing and, of course, log rolling.
Friday night lawnmower races and a Saturday parade more than 100 entries deep will also highlight the occasion marking the rugged spirit of rural Lewis County.
“It’s such a huge event,” Parade Organizer Nema Mortensen said. “It’s a good weekend and lots of people come out for this. Every year brings something exciting and new to our Morton area.”
Last year’s 75th anniversary edition of the Jubilee brought an extra level of buzz and attention to the event. Morton native Brandy Clark, a Grammy Award nominated country music artist, performed songs from her album “Big Day in a Small Town” inspired by her youth spent in Lewis County.
A fair amount of controversy also arose during last year’s Jubilee when a parade float sponsored by the Brown Shack Tavern in Salkum that featured a Confederate flag received the best in show award as well as a pair of category-specific prizes.
The subsequent city council meeting was standing-room only as area residents voiced their opinions, largely in the negative, on the matter.
Mortensen, who is married to Morton Mayor Dan Mortensen, organized the parade for the first time last year and is doing so again this year. She answered “no comment” when asked if there were any lasting changes or lingering effects from the incident.
This year’s parade theme is “Welcome to the Future.”
“No changes to the applications or the entry rules,” Nema Mortensen said in response to a follow-up question. “Nothing has changed. We’re not going to go back, we’re going to go forward from here.”
The parade is scheduled to begin marching down Main Street at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Loggers’ Jubilee officially gets underway at 8 p.m. Thursday when the 63rd annual Queen coronation takes place at Morton High School.
Lawnmower races headline Friday’s schedule. A staple of the Jubilee for more than four decades, about three dozen competitors are expected to pay the $20 entry fee required to partake in the mower madness at the Jubilee Arena.
Admission for spectators of the mower races is $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for children ages 6-12. Younger patrons will receive free admission.
“People come from all over for those lawnmower races,” organizer Julie Schaffer said. “Friday night is usually the time when all the locals get connected as well as when people start coming in from out of town.”
Logging competitions highlight the weekend slate. Scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Saturday and resume at noon on Sunday, nearly $20,200 in prize money will be awarded to competitors who make their way in from around the country. A $600 prize for the fastest speed climber tops the list of awards.
Adults can purchase a one-day pass to the logging competition for $8. Tickets for seniors and children ages 6-12 run $5.
The annual Uptown Street Dance will run from 9 p.m. Saturday until 1 a.m. Sunday in the Gas Plus parking lot. Other highlights of the Jubilee include the 10K race that begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday at Morton High School and the bed races on Main Street at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Men weighing at least 100 pounds ride bed frames pushed by teams of four women for a distance of one city block. Members of the winning team receive commemorative shirts.
Dry camping at Jubilee Park — no water or electric hookups — is available at a cost of $20 for the weekend. Reservations can be made by calling Josh Brooks at 360-880-6045.
Camping lots are also available at Gust Backstrom City Park in Morton. Patrons can call 360-496-6844 for more information about that location.
For more information about the Loggers’ Jubilee, visit www.loggersjubilee.com
