Ninth Annual Downhill Derby returns to downtown Sand Springs

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

SEE PHOTO GALLERY HERE.

The Ninth Annual Downhill Derby soapbox car race was hosted by the Sand Springs Rotary Club in downtown today. 

The tradition began in 2008 under the leadership of the now defunct Sand Springs Civitan Club and was put on in the heart of downtown on Main Street. The Great Sand Springs Downhill Soapbox Derby Race was an immediate success with 131 entries in what was expected to be a small local event. Former mayor Bob Walker is credited with first suggesting a soapbox derby in a Civitan Club meeting. 

In 2011 the festivities were moved to Charles Page High School, with the vendors in the parking lot, and the race track on Adams Road. The move added a half-block to the course track and eliminated the need for a sand trap at the end of the course. That year also saw the addition of the "Putting Smoke on the Track" barbecue and grilling competition. The event attracted more than 4,000 spectators and participants. 

2012 saw the addition of hot-air balloons to the competition.

In 2013 the Civitan Club asked the City of Sand Springs to take over the event

In 2014 the City of Sand Springs cancelled the event a month beforehand and two weeks before signups closed, citing low registration. 

In May of 2015 it was announced that the Sand Springs Rotary Club would be taking over the tradition. The event was billed the "Eighth Annual Downhill Derby," despite not having occurred the previous year. The festivities returned to the Triangle area of downtown.

This year had low spectator turnout and participation, but still drew some creative cars and excited youth competitors. 

Macen Henry won the Kids Novelty division in a large boxy blue car, followed by Shaun Allen in a red bullet-shaped vehicle, and Garrett Kennedy piloted a long hot-rod shaped two-seater. 

Greg Kennedy won the Adult Novelty competition in the two-seater he shared with his son with a time of 32.06 seconds. Sandy Cox came in second in the Cecil and Sons car with a close 32.16 time, followed by Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith in third. 

In the Kids Competitive division, the creativity was waved for speedier designs. Caleb Diggs won first place with a time of 30.15 seconds, followed by Cheyenne Wyatt in 30.68. Shaun Allen took third place.

The Adult Competitive champion was Thad Davis of Team Skunk Works who finished in 28.62, a full second ahead of Jon Diggs at 29.69. Third place went to Christina Wyatt.

Several food vendors were on hand, including Livi Lee's Donuts, Rib Crib, and Barnyard Blizzard Shaved Ice. Mission Christian Church was also there handing out free water bottles to spectators. 

Terry's Classic Coneys presents the Harper's Hut Classic Car & Bike Show, next Saturday in Sand Springs

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Three cars that may be at the car show. Photo: Mark Battenfield

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java is teaming up with Terry's Classic Coneys to bring an old tradition back to the Prattville community. Before being acquired by Teri Buckner, the former Ed's Classic Coneys hosted car shows just about every year. On Saturday, September 24th, the show is back and bigger than ever.

"We've spared no expense," says Harper's owner William Nozak. "It's not just car fans who should be there--it's families. It's a big big thing that we've all come together in Sand Springs to do."

Car Show sponsors:

Allstate
Animal House II Pet Store
Battman Collision Repair
Church That Matters
Copper Oaks Bed & Breakfast
Do Overs Furniture
Green Country Federal Credit Union
Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java
Inkwell Custom Apparel
Lucky 7's Custom Creations
Master Lube
Miss Trita's Dance Studio
Mother's Helper Consignment Shop
Sand Springs Autosource
Sand Springs Leader
Shell & Cross Bones Candles
Sullivan's Body Shop
Terry's Classic Coneys
U.S. Army Sand Springs Recruiting Center

The event may be hosted by Buckner and Nozak, but more than a dozen area businesses and organizations are helping to bring the annual event back to life.

The car show will last from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and will have plenty for everybody. DJ Blake Bush will be providing entertainment for the evening. Miss Trita's Dance Studio students will be performing a routine. The Sand Springs Leader will be providing games for the children and the Army will have youth games. There will be several other vendors of food, crafts, clothes, and more at the event as well.

Church That Matters will be preparing breakfast and the Harper's Hut coffee truck will also be on hand. Throughout the day, attendees will be able to lunch on Papa Pat's Barbecue or Terry's Classic Coneys, and follow it up with some shaved ice for dessert. 

The car show itself will feature 21 classes, with trophies going to the top-three in each class. The first place trophies are extra special, however. Nozak traveled three hours to Conway, Arkansas to acquire the trophies that were hand-made by an artist/mechanic from actual car parts. The trophies are very heavy, and very expensive. 

There's a special category for the kids to participate in, and a People's Choice Award trophy. Every entrant in the competition will receive a T-shirt, but the biggest prize goes to the Best in Show winner. That lucky person will receive a one night paid stay for two at the Copper Oaks Bed & Breakfast in Sapulpa. 

There will also be a raffle open to the public, full of great prizes. There's a lamp made out of car pistons, $25 vouchers to the Sand Springs Pumpkin Patch, two meals at Rib Crib, car detailing supplies from AutoZone, a month of free tanning from Touch of Sun, a one-year subscription to the Leader, and even more great prizes. Raffle tickets will be $5.00 apiece, and each prize will have its own bucket so that everyone gets a good shot at what they're wanting. 

The best part of the whole event is that it's nonprofit. The proceeds from the car show and raffle will all be split between the Keystone Fire Department and the Church That Matters Special Needs ministry. 

For more information, contact
William Nozak
www.harpershut.com
www.facebook.com/harpers.hut

From The Editor: Sunday June 19, 2016

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From the Editor’s Desk:

Greetings Sandites!

Thank you for reading the fourth edition of our new Sandite Pride News Weekly digital edition. We hope to be bringing this to you in a print format very soon!

If you’re new to our platform, I’d like to share our mission statement with you.

“Our mission is to improve our city by establishing relationships and building a family that works and stands together and celebrates each others' accomplishments.
We seek to be professional and factual, while maintaining compassion and honesty. We will report relevant stories in a timely manner from a positive perspective.
We will perform community outreach and look for opportunities to improve the quality of our environment. We will partner with local businesses, churches, youth groups, and other organizations, and support their visions for this community.”

What does all that mean? It means we’re here for you!

We want to help see your dreams through to fruition. We’re all Sandites, we’re all in this together, and it’ll take all of us working together to achieve the dream that Charles Page had for this great community! We strive to “think right” at Sandite Pride News, and that means helping the city any way we can.

Whether you’re a church, nonprofit organization, or even a for-profit business trying to do something special for the community, let us help you. Any free community event, such as church youth group events, vacation bible school programs, free movie nights, etc. are completely free to advertise with Sandite Pride!

We don’t look to profit off people trying to make a difference. Fundraisers where the host organization stands to profit are eligible for discounted rates on advertising as well. If 50% of the proceeds of your event go to charity, then your advertising is 50% off! And as always, we love our regular sponsors and advertisers who want to help support our vision. We offer full page, half page, banner ads, and more! Help us bring a light to this community and celebrate those who are achieving their dreams and putting this great city on the map.

We are always grateful for tips and information on any potential stories. Feel free to reach out today and make sure we know about your special events coming up! 

Scott Emigh
Editor-in-Chief
918.899.0823
www.SanditePride.com

This article was originally published in the Sandite Pride News Weekly Sunday edition.

From The Editor: Sunday June 5, 2016

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From the Editor’s Desk:

Greetings Sandites!

Thank you for reading the second edition of our new Sandite Pride News Weekly digital edition. We hope to be bringing this to you in a print format very soon!

In last week’s edition I talked about the history of Sandite Pride and how it all came together. To summarize it, we are not associated with the Sand Springs Leader, or the high school newspaper, The Sandtonian. We are a locally owned and operated company founded out of a love of Sand Springs and her people.

As a staff we believe there is no better community in the nation, and it is our goal to bring recognition to this great city and the incredible people who work day-in and day-out to make it that way. We believe that each and every citizen has a story, and we want to help them tell it.

Sandite Pride News, LLC consists of myself, Morgan Miller, Teri Emigh, and Virgil Noah. Morgan is our Executive Director. She helps oversee the flow of operations and makes sure that nothing is overlooked in the day-to-day operations. Teri is our Chief Financial Officer and handles our financial and legal obligations. Virgil is our Marketing Director. He works to establish the relationships with local businesses and organizations that are the lifeblood of our organization. As the Editor-in-Chief I am the voice of the company, and I decide the overall tone of our magazine as well as plan our long-term goals and purpose.

The fifth and most vital member of our team is you; the people we work for and represent, and care so much about. The whole reason this magazine/website exists is to bring the community together, to educate its people on current affairs affecting the city, to celebrate our successes and improve the overall sense of Sandite pride.

We hope you will work with us in this venture and we welcome your contribution. We are always looking for friends and partners in this journey and want to work together to make this town the best it can be.

Feel free to contact us any time for any reason. I can be reached at 918.899.0823. Morgan’s number is 918.508.9564 and Virgil’s number is 918.282.1243. Don’t hesitate to call us for any reason, or send us an email at SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. We are constantly looking for advertising partners, stories, news tips, and more. If you are hosting an event that you would like to be included in our magazine, let us know!

Sandite Pride News can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. We also have an account with SmugMug where you can purchase prints or downloads of all our photography, including sporting events, graduation, and most recently the Word of Life Free Community Carnival.

Scott Emigh
Editor-in-Chief
www.SanditePride.com 

This story was originally published in the Sandite Pride News Weekly Sunday edition.

Mark your calendars for the 27th annual Herbal Affair

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Story and photo by: Morgan Miller, Executive Director

If you are from Sand Springs or one of the surrounding areas, chances are you have been to or at least have heard of the Herbal Affair. If you have not heard of this festival, it is an annual herb and garden event held in downtown Sand Springs. The city’s website states that “this event was founded in 1989 and began as a simple downtown street sale. Since then it has grown tremendously and now attracts over 25,000 people each year. It has also led to other communities hosting similar events, but remains the “queen” of herbal festivals.” This event consistently attracts people from all over the state, and even people from surrounding states as well.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Kasey St. John, the Marketing and Special Projects Manager for the city of Sand Springs. St. John has organized this special event for Sand Springs for the past two years. For most of its life, the Herbal Affair was actually run by a committee, but a few years ago it was adopted by The City of Sand Springs.

The Herbal Affair has a huge economic impact on Sand Springs. In fact, St. John mentioned that Riddle Plant farm claims the day as their biggest day of the year. With thousands of people being attracted to Sand Springs from out of town, it is bound to impact the economy in a big way. This event drums up business for Sand Springs’ shops in downtown, the hotels, restaurants, and gas stations.

Morgan’s Relax Packs are handcrafted heat packs designed for maximum muscle relief at affordable pricing.

About 25 to 40% of the vendors at the Herbal Affair are from the Sand Springs or Tulsa Metro area. While a little under half are from this specific area of the state, about 90% of the vendors are from Oklahoma. People know what they are going for when they go to the Herbal Affair. Almost all of the vendors are there year after year and that is one of the things that makes it so unique. The herbal affair has maintained a certain standard and character over the years and that, as well, is what makes it so incredibly special. When you go out to the Herbal Affair, you are truly supporting your friends and neighbors.

This event has something for just about everyone. Held in the heart of downtown Sand Springs, there are many unique shops and boutiques, like The Silver Linings Boutique which is on Broadway. The Herbal affair’s vendors don’t only sell plants and herbs, either. There are also craft vendors, as well as food and drink vendors. There will be entertainment for all ages, such as musical performances and a “Kid’s Zone” put on by volunteers from Church That Matters.

If you would like to attend this incredible event, it is being held this year on April 16th, from 9am-4pm, rain or shine! All of the information for the festival can be found at herbalaffairandfestival.com and also on the Sand Springs Herbal Affair & Festival Facebook page. 

The entertainment schedule for this year is as follows:

2016 Entertainment Schedule

8:30-9:30       Casey and Minna
9:30-10:30     Clyde Boyd Middle School Jazz Band
10:30-Noon   Spring Street
Noon-12:30   Hometown Hero Presentation
12:30-2:00    Janet Rutland Trio
2:00-3:00      Seven Feathers
3:00-4:00      Turtle Creek Clogger

Vendors at the event include community favorites such as: Whispering Vines Vineyards and Winery, Tomato Man, The Jelly Lady, Sugar Sisters, Sparks Vineyard, Rosemary's Kitchen, Riddle Plant Farm, Red Dirt Salsa, Pita Place Mediterranean Grill, Okie Dirt, Kountry Kitchen, and Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java. The complete list can be found on the city website.