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ARMA —
The 66th annual Arma V-J Homecoming celebration Aug. 17 through 19 figures to live up to its reputation as rip-roaring good time, officials say, and they’re hoping to start a new tradition at this year’s event.
This year’s theme is “Let’s Dance,” and, fittingly, the Homecoming Committee decided to host a dance competition before the street dance Saturday night.
“The idea is that it could be anything through the ages,” said Kathryn Richard, chair of the Arma Homecoming Association. “We hope people will use that theme for their float entries, too. Hopefully we’ll see a variety of dancing.”
The highlights of the festival include the draft horse pull on Friday night, kids and women’s games at the grandstand, the baby contest, and dog show. There’s also the ever-popular mud volleyball tournament on Saturday, which Richard said she thinks is the biggest in the state.
“It’s because young people like to have fun together and it’s an opportunity to let loose and have fun,” Richard said.
The homecoming festival was organized in 1946 by the local American Legion post at the end of World War II, according to Arma Homecoming Association literature.
Over time it has grown from a single-day event to its current three-day celebration and is combined annual high school reunions. Arma’s celebration is popular not only because the committee spends countless hours preparing for it, but also because it gives family’s an opportunity to get together.
“And it’s not just limited to people from Arma,” Richard said. “We hope we’ll get people from throughout the region to come participate and have some fun.”
The homecoming festival also is special because it’s one of the few towns that still has a carnival each year. That’s because Toby’s Carnival Company, Inc., is headquartered in Arma, where it has been since Toby Nemmers started it in 1964.
“It’s my hometown and I enjoy seeing my old friends and acquaintances I haven’t seen in a long time,” Owner Daniel Yarnell said. “We don’t make a whole lot of money there, but we’re able to bring something to the community that don’t that a lot of communities don’t have anymore. There aren’t many carnivals around.”
Yarnell said rides will include the Zipper, Hurricane, Mind Winder, Zoomer, and the Rampage, which is one of five in North America.
The 66th annual Arma V-J Homecoming celebration Aug. 17 through 19 figures to live up to its reputation as rip-roaring good time, officials say, and they’re hoping to start a new tradition at this year’s event.
This year’s theme is “Let’s Dance,” and, fittingly, the Homecoming Committee decided to host a dance competition before the street dance Saturday night.
“The idea is that it could be anything through the ages,” said Kathryn Richard, chair of the Arma Homecoming Association. “We hope people will use that theme for their float entries, too. Hopefully we’ll see a variety of dancing.”
The highlights of the festival include the draft horse pull on Friday night, kids and women’s games at the grandstand, the baby contest, and dog show. There’s also the ever-popular mud volleyball tournament on Saturday, which Richard said she thinks is the biggest in the state.
“It’s because young people like to have fun together and it’s an opportunity to let loose and have fun,” Richard said.
The homecoming festival was organized in 1946 by the local American Legion post at the end of World War II, according to Arma Homecoming Association literature.
Over time it has grown from a single-day event to its current three-day celebration and is combined annual high school reunions. Arma’s celebration is popular not only because the committee spends countless hours preparing for it, but also because it gives family’s an opportunity to get together.
“And it’s not just limited to people from Arma,” Richard said. “We hope we’ll get people from throughout the region to come participate and have some fun.”
The homecoming festival also is special because it’s one of the few towns that still has a carnival each year. That’s because Toby’s Carnival Company, Inc., is headquartered in Arma, where it has been since Toby Nemmers started it in 1964.
“It’s my hometown and I enjoy seeing my old friends and acquaintances I haven’t seen in a long time,” Owner Daniel Yarnell said. “We don’t make a whole lot of money there, but we’re able to bring something to the community that don’t that a lot of communities don’t have anymore. There aren’t many carnivals around.”
Yarnell said rides will include the Zipper, Hurricane, Mind Winder, Zoomer, and the Rampage, which is one of five in North America.
“It’s like a double Ferris wheel, but with your feet dangling,” Yarnell said, adding that there will be several kids’ rides as well.
Advance passes can be purchased for $35, and armbands are $20 apiece. The carnival opens Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 10 a.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m.
Yarnell said carnivals are timeless because it’s an activity parents can relate to their kids.
“When they were younger they did it,” he said.
The homecoming celebration is an important piece of Arma’s history and identity, Yarnell said, and it means a lot to the people who attend.
“I’ve got family that comes from Texas every year just to play in the volleyball tournament,” he said.
