Ellyott Davis, 6, has fun popping bubbles at the ’62 Days Parade in Canyon City on Saturday, June 17, 2023.

Overcast skies coupled with plenty of family-friendly entertainment welcomed hundreds of people to the 102nd annual ’62 Days Celebration marking the discovery of gold in Canyon City on June 8, 1862.

The celebration got underway on Friday, June 16, at Sels’ Brewery and continued until the night of Saturday, June 17. Colby Farrell of the Whiskey Gulch Gang said 1,200-1,400 people attended the two-day celebration, beating last year’s turnout of around 1,000 attendees.

The celebration had a little something for everybody, with a 5K run/walk, parade, movie night, various kids’ games put on by Scout Troop 800 and a dunk tank where kids and members of the audience could drop Canyon City Mayor Steve Fischer and Grant County Circuit Court Judge Robert Raschio into a tank of water. Another hit with kids was the opportunity to pan for gold, with the youths getting to keep any authentic gold they managed to find.

Vendors selling everything from small trinkets to ’62 Days apparel along with food and drinks set up along Washington Street for the celebration. The first farmers market of the 2023 season was also held in the vicinity of the ’62 Days Celebration.

The parade was also a huge hit. Grant County Rodeo Queen Laramie Kiser and her twin sister, Princess Lavina Kiser, rode in the procession, along with Oregon High School Rodeo Association Queen and Grant County parade mainstay Rowdy Israel. The Grant Union Gold dance team, Smokey Bear, Grant County People Mover and Grant County all-star baseball were among a number of local organizations, businesses and groups to make an appearance in the parade.

The Whiskey Gulch Gang, the organizer of the ’62 Days celebration, brought up the rear of the parade as the event’s final entrant.

The parade was described by Farrell as larger than last year’s with a higher turnout of parade watchers than there has been in recent years.

“The parade especially had a lot more entrants and a lot more spectators than we’ve had in a while, which is really good to see,” he said.

A new addition to ’62 Days was movie night at the Grantville Theatre with “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “Top Gun: Maverick” being shown in the theater. The movies were so well-received that some would-be viewers had to be turned away during the showing of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” “Top Gun: Maverick” was also well-attended.

Each year the ’62 Days celebration gives attendees a taste of frontier justice. In this year’s scenario, a mock fight spilled out of Sels’ Brewery and escalated into a gunfight on the streets of Canyon City that ended with the loser pretending to fall down dead. The cowboy that did the deed finally surrendered his weapon after a hail of gunfire.

“Townspeople” comprised of members of the Whiskey Gulch Gang led the outlaw to a gallows just beside the brewery, bringing the outlaw up on charges before a swift mock hanging.

Following the hanging, attendees wandered back to the downtown park for live music from the James Gang or made their way into Sels’ Brewery for a cold beverage. The brewery’s beer garden was the setting for an afternoon cornhole tournament followed by Copper Ridge in concert.

Overall, Farrell said this year’s event was another successful ’62 Days Celebration.

“Everything else went really well also, like the medicine wagon show — the bleachers were full and we had a lot of participation. The park was full of kids all day, music was good and people were dancing in the park. Everything was really well-attended and everything went really well, it seemed like,” he added.

Men

First: John Jordan, 28, 21:03

First aged 40+: Ron Simpson, 54, 22:56.

Women

First: Grace Broadbear, 20, 19:21 

First aged 40+: Marin Broadbear, 54, 25:05.

Mounted group

Blue ribbon: Rocky Mountain Riders 4H

Group

Blue Ribbon: Grant County Little League All-Stars

Antique car

Ron Phillips Ford Model T.

Business

Sunrise Construction

ATV/Motorcycle

Veterans motorcycle group

Best representation of 1862

Madden Realty