Cinder City Heats Up

Altoona kicks off summer with annual festival

Haley Wright, photos by Kelsey Smith |

The one and only Cinder City Days, one of the first of the area summer festivals, runs June 8-11 in Altoona’s Cinder City Park. The festival, put on annually by the Altoona Lions Club, has been a draw for locals for more than four decades, offering a little something for everyone down at the park. Every day there are carnival rides (with a wristband) for those looking for a little high-speed excitement. Additionally, there will be a beer garden and food offerings throughout the event, as well as live music featuring performances by local talent as well as a nationally known country act, Blackhawk. On Friday the schedule includes evening baseball, an evening softball tournament, and a karaoke sing-off featuring contenders who won qualifying competitions that began in February. On Saturday the offerings include a pancake breakfast, the 8th Annual Spectrum Shuffle Fun Run/Walk, beanbag and darts tournaments, a craft show, a car show, a doll and pet parade with a “Supervillains and Heroes” theme, a big parade (featuring Ronald McDonald, floats, and old cars), grilled chicken in the park, and live music by Blackhawk. And Cinder City Days wraps up Sunday with an all-you-can-eat breakfast at the VFW, a raffle, and the Smoke in the Valley BBQ cook-off. There will be camping at the Eau Claire Expo Center campground (with reservations), with shuttles to and from the event. For full details on all the fun, check out cindercitydays.com

44th Annual Cinder City Days • June 8-11 • Cindy City Park, 2300 Spooner Ave., Altoona • altoonalionsclub@yahoo.com • cindercitydays.com