The Old Time Picnic in July
Harrison's Old Time Picnic Sack Race / Photo by Don Heikkila
July 28-30, 2023
Harrison's Old Time Picnic is always during the weekend of the last Sunday in July (rather than the last weekend of July). It's a traditional community celebration complete with parade and family-friendly old fashioned games such as sack race, baby crawling contest, and the greased pole climb. There is also a ladies nail driving contest and a mens' obstacle contest.
The Searchlight is distributed before the OTP. It contains interviews about the good old days in Harrison and contains the weekend schedule of events.
Read the 2019 Searchlight here:
www.harrisonidaho.org/2019-searchlight.html
The three-day celebration is mainly a reunion of families and friends of Harrison. People receive prizes for being the oldest Old Timer, the newest one, and the person who has come the farthest to participate in the event.
There is a dinner on Friday in the Harrison Grange Hall, where the Coronation of the King and Queen for the year takes place. On Sunday, there is breakfast in the city park from 7:30 - 10 am, then lunch after the parade from 11 am - 2 pm.
Harrison's Old Time Picnic is always during the weekend of the last Sunday in July (rather than the last weekend of July). It's a traditional community celebration complete with parade and family-friendly old fashioned games such as sack race, baby crawling contest, and the greased pole climb. There is also a ladies nail driving contest and a mens' obstacle contest.
The Searchlight is distributed before the OTP. It contains interviews about the good old days in Harrison and contains the weekend schedule of events.
Read the 2019 Searchlight here:
www.harrisonidaho.org/2019-searchlight.html
The three-day celebration is mainly a reunion of families and friends of Harrison. People receive prizes for being the oldest Old Timer, the newest one, and the person who has come the farthest to participate in the event.
There is a dinner on Friday in the Harrison Grange Hall, where the Coronation of the King and Queen for the year takes place. On Sunday, there is breakfast in the city park from 7:30 - 10 am, then lunch after the parade from 11 am - 2 pm.
Slideshow photos taken by Don Heikkila
The Harrison Searchlight
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The Harrison Searchlight is an annual publication packed with interviews and stories of Harrison's history, updates about the latest happenings, and tributes to its citizens from throughout the years. Read the 2015 Searchlight here: Searchlight 2015 - Part 1 Searchlight 2015 - Part 2 Read the 2016 Searchlight here Pages 1 to 10 Pages 11 to 20 Pages 21 to 30 Pages 31 to 40 Pages 41 to 48 If you would like to be on the mailing list, or have questions or comments, please use the "Contact Us" box below. Harrison's first newspapers were The Foghorn (est. 1895), and Mountain Messenger. They were consolidated as The Searchlight in 1900, which was published as a weekly until 1925. The paper was resurrected in 1953 as an "annual celebration edition" in conjunction with the Harrison Old Time Picnic. Harrisonites had been gathering for the annual picnic in Coeur d'Alene, and '53 is the year the event was moved to Harrison. |
Old Time Picnic Parade / Photo by Don Heikkila
These days, a volunteer staff publishes The Harrison Searchlight, usually a 40-page tabloid, with much of the work being done by Don Heikkila. Five thousand copies are printed with three thousand mailed to 45 states. Others are handed out to picnic attendees and businesses in town.
It costs about $5,000 to print and mail the paper. The Harrison Old Time Picnic funds the annual newspaper by selling advertising in The Harrison Searchlight, having raffles in the park the day of the picnic, and accepting donations. Work on The Searchlight is ongoing all year. Volunteers and articles are always welcome. Contact Don Heikkila at (208) 659-3389 or idfinn@sm-email.com. |