Shelley Spud Day introducing street festival as part of the annual celebration

SHELLEY — The “longest running small town celebration in the U.S.” will be introducing a new event after 96 years in operation.

The Shelley Annual Spud Day will feature a street festival on Friday, Sept. 15 – the night before the festivities at the park. People will be able listen to live music under string lights and enjoy the anticipation before Spud Day kicks off.

“People can easily mill around the area, visit with friends, talk about plans, grab a bite to eat and have a pleasant, nice evening in the beautiful early fall weather,” said Rori Christensen, Chairman of the Spud Day committee.

In addition to the new street festival, Spud Day will bring back events that people have enjoyed for years and years between Sept. 7-16.

The street festival will take place on West Pine Street, between the intersections of South State Street and South Emerson Avenue from 7-10 p.m.

The festival already has ten local vendors signed up including The Corn Dog Company, Lemon Smashers and Sodamix. New vendors can still participate without charge this year. Christensen said interested businesses can contact her at (208) 681-4089.

“The Eastern Idaho Fair will be closed so if somebody is still in the area and they decide we’re gonna jump up to Shelley… contact me. We’ll arrange it and make room,” Christensen said.

A local musician named Gunnar Martinez will be playing with a live band pro bono for the street festival. Christensen said his show is appropriate for all ages and he’ll be playing, “rock, country, and a little bit of everything from the sixties to the present.”

Spud Day will take place at the Dawn Lloyd Field at 230 North Park in Shelley beginning Sept. 16.

A full schedule of the events of the week can be found below: