BWhile the 56th annual Fort Verde Days, held Oct. 12 to 14, attracted all sort of people to downtown Camp Verde for food and fun, others were there for a little bit of competition.
Light-hearted, of course, but the competitions involved serious skill, and some bragging rights were at stake. The judging began with the annual Fort Verde Days parade, where, as it turns out, some folks from out of town took the top spot.
It was the performance and style of the Chino Valley High School Marching Cougars that earned the group of student musicians the title of Best in Show.
Honors were brought back a little closer to home when it came to the most historically accurate parade entry, this year won by the Yavapai-Apache Nation Royalty and Group Dancers.
The Marine Corps League Verde Valley Detachment 1176 was recognized for its color guard on display, while the American Legion Riders won the best motorcycle entry.
Of course, being Fort Verde Days, there were plenty of horses in the parade of the non-steel variety. The best junior mounted group award went to the entourage accompanying this year’s Colonel’s Daughter, Sharli MacDonald.
The best single mounted entry was picked up by John Wischmeyer while the best junior single mounted entry went to Kestrel Gorlick on a miniature Wells Fargo stagecoach.
For the full story, see the Wednesday, Oct. 24, edition of The Camp Verde Journal.
