KINGFIELD – Over the past weekend, hundreds of people flocked to attend various events as part of the Kingfield Days celebration, a festival that nearly everyone involved seemed to view as one of the best weekends of the year for the small town.
It began Friday and lasted through Sunday, with numerous activities, shows and exhibits put on by a wide variety of local groups.
On Sunday, one of the unique and well-attended activities was the mud football championship.
The tournament, which featured eight teams from all around the New England area, is one of only two such tournaments for mud football – a much messier version of traditional American football, played on a field that consists entirely of mud.
Ronald “Ronk” Beedy organized the event, which lasted two days and first occurred in 1984. He said he thought it provided a significant spark to the region and to Kingfield Days because of the visitors it brought in.
“They fill hotels from here to Sugarloaf,” said Beedy, referring to the seven visiting teams and their fans. “It’s a big weekend for Kingfield.”
Beedy, who is also the president of the Carrabassett Mud Football Organization, described the tournament as a “family event,” a claim he backed up by playing in the event himself, along with his two sons.
“This is the best weekend of the year, right here,” said Beedy.
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In a much less muddy area of town, the Kingfield Historical Society also took full advantage of the increased local interest generated by Kingfield Days, displaying a new exhibit, as it does each year at this time.
Kirsten Brown, curator for the society’s museum, said that Kingfield Days is their “biggest event of the year,” and they “always look forward to it,” with preparation beginning as far back as April.
This year, the museum’s new exhibit was a series of pictures taken by Chansonetta Stanley Emmons, a Kingfield-born photographer. The museum will ultimately be displaying 16 original photos by Emmons, although only four were up for the weekend.
Brown was thrilled with the addition of the new pictures, which she said “added significantly to (their) collection.”
For those with a taste for speed, the Jordan Lumber Co. hosted go-kart races at its local track, the first time it had done so in conjunction with Kingfield Days. The races featured contestants of all ages, with trophies going to the fastest competitors in each class.
The event was well-attended, with families setting up tents and lawn chairs on the hill that overlooked the track. Like the mud football tournament, everyone in attendance seemed to enjoy the sun, along with some food and ice cream, as they sat together and watched the go-karts cruise around the track.
Other activities over the weekend included a climbing wall, a river race, several small concerts and the grand parade on Saturday.
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