Happy Birthday, America! Chippewa Valley celebrates in all sorts of way

She said Colin was a little shy, and the competition might be good for him.

The Altoona Big Bang Fourth of July Celebration at Cinder City Park already had several different activities, including helicopter rides, a cribbage tournament, a car show, a children's area with inflatable games and, of course, fireworks, but organizers decided to try a hot dog eating contest this year, said city Administrator Mike Golat. He was master of ceremonies for the contest.

"What's more American than eating hot dogs on the Fourth of July?" he asked.

To prepare for his MC role, Golat watched the hot dog eating contest at New York's Coney Island, where Joey "Jaws" Chestnut ate 61 hot dogs with buns in 10 minutes, but he failed to beat the world record he set last year of 69.

In a post-eating interview, Chestnut pronounced it a "slow hot dog day", and that he never found his rhythm.

The rules were the same for the Altoona contest, with participants trying to eat as many dogs with buns as they could in 10 minutes. Organizers even provided buckets of water for each contestant, in case, like the pros at Coney Island, they wanted to dip the buns so they could swallow them faster.

The start was delayed by about 40 minutes when the roaster being used to cook the dogs broke. They had to be microwaved.

The contestants in the youth division decided hot dogs tasted better dry, however. Some did call for condiments, which were supplied by volunteers running around with bottles of ketchup and mustard.

Nine or 10 youths younger than 14 participated. More than a dozen participants had registered for the adult contest.

About the only rule was that if contestants vomited, they were disqualified, Golat said. He asked that they use the buckets if that happened.

Unfortunately, the leader with a minute to go did throw up his dogs, eliciting a groan from the crowd.

Farrah paced himself, finishing five hot dogs, while sipping pop in between.

John LaBarge of Eau Claire won the adult category, eating 12 hot dogs.

The prize in both categories was $75.

The hot dogs were provided by Dietz & Watson of Philadelphia and Rump's Butcher Shoppe, which is scheduled to open in August in downtown Altoona

The Leader-Telegram was among the sponsors for the daylong celebration.

Carson Park

With a cloud of smoke and a blast of the whistle, the miniature steam engine at Carson Park in Eau Claire took off Friday afternoon pulling open-air cars filled with families, usually with young kids, on a circuit of just over a half-mile.

Two miniature steam engines did the work on Independence Day - one built in 1920, the other in 1960, said Charlie Schaaf of the Chippewa Valley Railroad Association.

Running on a parallel track was a noisier gasoline-powered train. Both were going at full capacity. The 15 volunteers from the association were busy, he said, keeping the trains running from noon to 5 p.m.

The more people who are here, the more we can pretend to be kids, too, and have a great time, Schaaf said.

The trains operate from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.

At the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum in Carson Park, 8-year-old Autumn Winters of Eau Claire was putting all her 50 pounds into pulling a cross-cut saw, but making no progress. Fred Base, who was on the other end of the saw, suggested she wiggle it a little, which she did, and soon the saw was moving, and they had cut through a small log. Autumn kept a piece of wood she cut - the "cookie" - as a souvenir.

Chippewa Valley Museum and the Paul Bunyan camp had open houses Friday, and many people were touring, including a group of South Korean students who were studying English at UW-Stout in Menomonie for a month. The students have learned about the U.S. Independence Day, said their professor, Yongil Lee of Nam Seoul University.

In solidarity with the United States, he said, the students were wearing red, white and blue T-shirts. Most didn't have shirts with all those colors, so some were wearing white, some red and some blue.

Just as the indoor and outdoor events at the museums were winding down around 4 p.m., inflatable games were beginning at the edge of the main parking lot at Carson Park.

The games are sponsored by Festival Foods, which also sponsored the fireworks late Friday night, said Dan Bohlinger parks supervisor for the city of Eau Claire.

He said despite the pleasant weather Friday, the crowds might be down slightly from recent years, but that's a trend they often see when Independence Day falls on a Friday, he said. Families are more likely to go out of town if the holiday is part of a three-day weekend, he said.

Knight can be reached at 715-830-5835, 800-236-7077 or joe.knight@ecpc.com.