For more than half a century, the second full weekend in June is dedicated to the annual Waterville Bullhead Days celebration.
There are a number of new musical events this year, the return of a carnival, and some of the regular events have been super-sized for the June 7 thru 9 festival.
Midwest Rides will be providing some games, rides, and new food this year.
Music will be prevalent all weekend, starting with Generation Gap playing late Friday afternoon at the 3rd Street Entertainment Tent and Power House Band playing at the 2nd Street Entertainment Stage. Crista Bohlmann will play for three hours Saturday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and will be followed at the 3rd Street Entertainment tent by Father’s Daughters starting at 5 p.m.
“What’s The Scoop” will be sponsoring a teen dance starting at 6 p.m. at the 2nd Street Entertainment Stage.
The final day of the celebration will feature Gold Star Band starting at noon on 3rd Street.
One of the newer events is the Borderline Pulling Series Tractor Pull. This will be held Saturday, June 8 at noon directly south of the city/county shop. There will be five different classes and possibly some local pullers involved. They put on a great show last year in their second appearance at Bullhead Days.
Another event which was started a couple of years ago has exploded with interest. The Outdoor Vendor Fair is set for Saturday, June 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Main Street. There were more than 40 exhibitors selling their goods in 2023.
The first day of the event - Friday, June 7 - will feature a Classic Car Roll-In starting at 3 p.m. on Main Street, the 67th Annual Miss Waterville and Junior Miss Queen Pageant at 7 p.m., and the Lions Club Fireworks Display over the bay at 10 p.m.
Candidates for Miss Waterville include: Clare Elness and Ryley Henning. The Junior Miss candidates are Evey Andree, Ella Ferch, Khalessi Hagel, Zaiah Kern, and Annabelle Krienke.
The second day of the event - Saturday, June 8 - will feature the 4th annual Waterville Fire Department Bass Fishing Tourney, the Vendor Fair, the NAPA remote control demolition derby at 11 a.m., the kids fishing contest at the swimming beach at 9 a.m., bean bag tourney behind DT’s 118 Saloon, Cribbage Tournament at 1 p.m., the Tractor Pull, and Pedal Tractor Pull for Kids at 7 p.m., and Dancers, Just For Kix Dance Demonstration, and Comedy and Magic Show.
The final day of the event - Sunday, June 9 - the Lions Club Grande Parade will be held at 1 p.m., a Unicycling Unicorn performance at 2 p.m., and Kids Bingo will also start after the parade in the Waterville Event Center.
Throughout the weekend there will be many hours of Lions Bingo and the annual Medallion Hunt. There will also be live music at the Entertainment Tent all three days. The Bullhead Days raffle will take place Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at the Entertainment Tent. The bullhead stand will also be full of those delicious fish, along with other food vendors.
