Over Labor Day weekend, De Soto High School’s class of 1964 hosted the 50th annual De Soto Days Festival. The weekend was packed with events for De Soto residents and visitors of all ages.
The festival began on Thursday night with Evans Midland Carnival in Miller Park. There were plenty of rides, a Do-it-Yourself Photobooth, Battle of the Bands and the local band, Blind Date performed.
Senior Zach Burch performed in Battle of the Bands on Thursday.
“I performed with a friend of mine, Maston, and we performed in a band called Change Up, where the other two members dropped out. And I performed in another band called The Flukes with Isaiah Gum and Isaac Smith,” Burch said.
Burch felt like it took a few songs to “break the barrier between the band and the audience” during his first set, but that the third song was successful.
“It didn’t feel like a competition. I knew that the third band was going to win because they actually had a band,” Burch said. “I invited them, they’re awesome, and they’re friends of mine. The band’s name is Mobs.”
The carnival was shaken due to a thunderstorm that rolled through on Friday night, but a lot of people stayed to continue through the rain.
“My favorite part was riding all of the rides over and over again because they had short lines,” senior Tara Logan said. “My least favorite part was probably the wristbands. I felt like they were too expensive.”
Senior Kelly Debrabander agreed with Logan.
“My favorite ride was Rock N’ Roll,” Debrabander said. “I wish that there were more rides though. Repetition is okay, but it can get boring.”
The local groups The Rippers and Bluzville performed on Friday night.
Saturday the festival started early for the Nifty Fifty parade, which included many different clubs and activities from DHS.
Awards for floats and performances were handed out for Most Original, Most Spirited, Most Creative, Best Performance, Best in Parade and Mayor’s Choice Award.
With the last day of the carnival, Matt Snook and Pompous Jack performed and the De Soto Food Pantry sponsored a dunk tank for USD 232 staff members.
With either the donation of one food item or $1, contestants were given three balls to throw at a target. A direct hit dunked the staff member into a giant tank of water.
“I was happy to participate because I knew it was for a good cause. People were donating for the De Soto Food Pantry, and with it being volleyball season, I figured I could get some volleyball fans to come down,” guidance counselor Lindsay Hothan. “There was a good turnout, and it was a lot of fun seeing everyone’s favorite teachers get dunked. I think there’s a lot of people who need to be trying out for the softball and baseball teams this year because just about everyone got dunked.”