CHICKASHA – A throng of tourists and locals alike packed downtown Chickasha from daylight to dark-thirty Saturday for fun and games during the first-ever “Rock Island Weekend.”
The festivities included the sixth annual Food Truck Championship, sponsored by SaltCreek Casino. More than 30 food trucks from across the state competed for a $10,000 grand prize.
In the Rock Island Ride charity event, an estimated 200 or more bike riders traveled multiple routes that catered to a variety of ages and skill levels.
And a “Together We Heel” walk Saturday focused a spotlight on domestic violence. Walkers assembled at the leg lamp statue in “Old Town” Chickasha and embarked on a half-mile walk through downtown that ended at Sixth and Chickasha Avenue at the Arts Festival main stage.
The walk, organized by Intervention Crisis Advocacy Network, “raised awareness and demonstrated our unwavering support for victims of domestic violence,” said Cassie Poole, marketing director of the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce.
A lineup of bands presented live performances on the First National Stage throughout the day.
An arts festival all three days of the weekend, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, “transformed Chickasha Avene from Fourth to Sixth streets into an artistic haven,” Poole said.
In preparation for the influx of festivalgoers, several new asphalt parking spaces were created last week on the east side of First Street between Chickasha Avenue and Kansas Avenue by Hometown Paving of Chickasha.