Friends and family gather for Chubbuck’s largest community celebration

CHUBBUCK — Locals gathered together to celebrate the Chubbuck community this weekend.

Chubbuck Days, a three-day celebration, ended with its festival on Saturday at Cotant Park. While some residents have been going to Chubbuck Days for decades, others were there for their first time.

“People come together and just have a good time. The participation level is absolutely amazing,” said Chubbuck Mayor Kevin England.

Mayor Kevin England parks his golf cart while chatting with a resident. | Logan Ramsey, EastIdahoNews.com

The festival was preceded by a parade earlier that morning, a family film on Friday and a tennis tournament that started Thursday.

England has been coming to Chubbuck days every year since he moved to the city from Pocatello in 1986. Over time he’s watched the event grow, and he said Chubbuck will eventually expand it.

“It just seems to get bigger and better,” England said.

An overhead view of Chubbuck Days moments before the ping pong ball drop. | Isabella Sosa-Salazar, EastIdahoNews.com

Eleven-year-old Kyler Lefevor was at Chubbuck Days for his first time after living in the city for two and a half years, and he found it to be a fun and welcoming environment.

“I really like it,” Lefevor said. “It’s really small and there’s no traffic.”

A crowd rushes to gather ping pong balls. | Isabella Sosa-Salazar, EastIdahoNews.com

This was the second year where EastIdahoNews.com has done its Ping Pong Ball Drop, where its helicopter drops several hundred balls and people collect them for potential prizes. Kaleb Fayle, the winner of the grand prize, which was a 55″ television set, has been going to Chubbuck Days every year since he can remember.

“I enjoy the vendors a lot because there’s just like so many different foods all around it. I’m just a foodie,” Fayle said.

People line up for food trucks. | Logan Ramsey, EastIdahoNews.com

Fayle’s favorite memory from Chubbuck Days was when some sort of renaissance fair was in attendance, and he got to watch them wear armor and sword fight.

Heather Hitchcock, who has lived in Chubbuck for five years, attended the festival for her first time. She attended the parade for the last two years.

“It’s cool to see the community come out,” Hitchcock said.

Hitchcock was happy this was an event that she could take her children to.

“There’s more candy then they can even collect, so that’s definitely a highlight,” Hitchcock said.

Wendy Butler, the mayor’s assistant, has been organizing Chubbuck Days for nearly 20 years. She said that it’s always a fun time to see the event come together.

“You really realize that people do enjoy it,” Butler said.