Busy summer plans for chamber members

There will be no shortage of fun, local events in the area this summer according to announcements shared by members of the Lovell Area Chamber of Commerce at its monthly chamber luncheon on Monday, May 19, at the Big Horn County annex building.

Each business or organization in attendance had the opportunity to share things they had coming up during the summer months and encourage community members to mark their calendars.

Up first, Club Dauntless informed the members of the upcoming Murph Challenge happening over this Memorial Day weekend. They also have the Dauntless Adventure Club of activities outside of the gym such as hiking, kayaking, yoga and paddleboarding at Horseshoe Bend. 

For Mustang Days there will be a few slight changes this year. 

The car show will be held on Thursday that week on Oregon Avenue, with the streets blocked off from Main Street to Fifth Street to accommodate more vehicles.

The Rod and Gun Club will only be hosting their shooting events on Monday and Tuesday this year, and Family Fun Night will be back at Armory Park with booths set up along the new walking path. 

Another change will be the time of the Follies. The Dollies and Mustang Band will begin playing outside of the Hyart beginning at 6 p.m. with the Follies set to start at 7 p.m. The theme is “Legends of Legacy” celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the Follies.

Byron Days is scheduled for July 11-12. A special memorial and renaming of Riverview Park will be held on Friday in honor of the family of little girls that lost their lives in February. The rest of the annual events will take place as normal for the weekend.

There are a plethora of new upgrades taking place at Foster Gulch Golf Course and tournaments scheduled throughout the summer. The course will also be rated for the first time in nearly 30 years along with other area courses through the Wyoming and Colorado Golf Association in July.

Jed Nebel reported that the Town of Lovell’s project at Armory Park, stating that Midway Construction and Dirt Work has begun to install the amphitheater. He said the town already has multiple people interested in holding concerts there. 

The town has also made progress in the community’s mountain bike trails initiative, and excitement is building around the project.

In economic development, the town has been selected for a study being done by Harvard Business School, which is doing a study on small, rural communities throughout Wyoming to analyze and break down where towns are failing to spend money and resources and what areas they should be focusing on.

Christy Fleming of the National Park Service said, “Our focus will be on the lake and its recreation this summer. We’re going to try and put all our efforts out on the water.” 

Fleming reminded boat owners to make sure to stop at the ranger station to get their boats checked.

“Don’t just drive by or we will send Frank after you,” she playfully warned.

The Lovell Recreation District and BOCES have a wide range of youth sports camps and activities open for registration on their website for the summer months, while the Lovell Library will also be kicking off their summer reading program.

For the Lovell-Kane Area Museum, the bus tour will be on June 7 this year, and their big fundraiser will be held on October 11 at the community center featuring the Dan Miller Band, dinner and silent auction.

The Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center is up and running with their summer hours and finalizing plans for their annual Morning with the Mustangs event.

The Hyart will host a Summer Movie Program for children’s movies to be shown on Thursday afternoons for a discounted matinee price. Punch cards are available for purchase for the summer through Linda Mangus, Mike Steenbakkers or the chamber office.

The Horseshoe Bend Marina will be open starting this Friday for their summer hours. From 6-9 p.m. on Fridays there will be live music. A complete list of events can be found on their website. Hidden Treasure boat tours will begin the first week of June.

North Big Horn Senior Center director Kim Gifford addressed chamber members about how the federal budget cuts could be affecting their services and urged community members to contact Wyoming’s congressional delegation for support.

The next chamber luncheon is scheduled for Monday, June 16, at the Mustang Café.