SOUTH FORK— For the past several years, South Fork, like other neighboring communities has worked very hard on economic recovery after the West Fork Complex Fire in 2013. Through various marketing plans and strategies, the town has seen a steady increase in tourism over the past six years and this last weekend proved to be one of the best yet.
Businesses around the area prepared for the Fourth of July holiday while the town and other organizations like the South Fork Fire Rescue team worked to plan a wonderful Third of July celebration, which turned out even better than anyone could have hoped. Several business owners ended up taking Monday off, closing their doors and allowing time for their employees to recover from the busy weekend as thousands of people flocked to the area beginning on Wednesday.
The morning of July 3 kicked off with the South Fork Farmers Market at the visitor center. Vendors from all over the southwest region set up shop to sell a variety of goods from local honey to homemade crafts and houseware decorations. Most of the vendors barely had time to finish setting up before the crowds of people began to come out, eager to see what the market had to offer.
By 11 a.m. the line for the annual South Fork Fire Rescue (SFFR) Fish Fry was wrapped around the fire department building and more people were showing up for their chance to eat a delicious meal. According to SFFR spokeswoman Linette Nye-Schmidt the department served 924 hungry guests. “We want to thank Ben E. Keith for his generous contribution towards the food we served and help from both the SFFR Ladies Auxiliary and our wonderful volunteers.”
The department was packed with people who not only enjoyed a hot meal prepared by SFFR from scratch but also participated in the silent auction that consisted of several items, trips and packages donated by local businesses and organizations.
The rest of the afternoon was enjoyed by guests who ventured out to see some of the local sites, stopped by the visitor center to chat with Director Mark Teders who helped with suggestions of places to go and things to see and a wide variety of businesses that opened their doors for the holiday and weekend.
By 3 p.m. guests were lining the frontage road along Highway 160 for the annual parade. As with previous years, the town invited everyone to come participate in the parade which was full of people who have either been visiting the area for many years or newcomers who got a kick out of being able to participate in the parade.
The night ended with a special rodeo hosted by Burris and Sons and of course a beautiful firework display that was conducted by SFFR team members. Even with celebrations done for the year, the town remained busy throughout the weekend with no sign of slowing down in the near future.