The festival began with the Cruise-In on Friday evening with 85 vehicles registered and nearly 100 vehicles on the field for display.

There were three categories of competition, with the winners chosen by audience choice.

The winners in each category were:

¯ In the car category, first place went to Doug Merrill with his 1977 Ford Maverick, and, in second place, was Ed Russell with his 1966 Chevy Malibu.

The winners of the Little Miss/Mr. Cherry Creek Pageant are shown above with pageant organizer Amy Johnston, second from right. Shown in the back row is pageant judge John Johnston, Shown from left front are Little Miss Cherry Creek winners Tatiana Bova and Caysie Troutman, with Little Mr. Cherry Creek, Hunter Bova, on the right. P-J photo by Sue Ann Fish

¯ In the truck category, first place was won by Dick Bradigan for his 1948 GMC while second place was awarded to Jerry Mathewson for his 1931 Ford.

¯ Brenda Rickard was awarded first place in the motorcycle category for her 13 Can Am Special, with Dan Colburn winning second place for his 15 Harley Low Rider.

Saturday morning’s Little Miss/Mr. Cherry Creek contest featured three contestants vying for the titles.

This year marked the contest’s reappearance after an absence of a few years. Formerly the project of Kathy Riley, who passed away a few years ago following a battle with cancer, the pageant is now under the direction of Amy Johnston.

“I wanted to reestablish the pageant in Kathy’s honor,” Johnston said. “She was a much-loved person in the community and continues to be dearly missed.”

The Cherry Creek Fire Department Auxiliary hosted an exhibit to thank veterans. Shown are Jennie Westlake and her son Ron, an Air Force veteran. Veterans were invited to sign a guest book and place a push pin in the global map to display where they had served. Each of the country’s branches of military service were featured in the exhibit. P-J photo by Sue Ann Fish

Competing for the titles were Tiana Bova, who said that her favorite subject in school is science because she likes doing experiments. Her favorite color is blue. Also competing for the Little Miss title was Caysie Troutman, who said her favorite color is orange and that she likes gym class the best at school, and loves to ride horses. The lone contestant for the title of Little Mr. was Hunter Bova, who likes gym class at school, playing ball and horses. Hunter Bova was awarded the title of Little Mister Cherry Creek, with a tie between the two young ladies for the Little Miss title. All three participants rode on the float during the parade. The judge of the pageant was John Johnston.

The pie baking contest had four categories of competition. Winning for best presentation and best overall pie was Neil Burns. Winning the categories of best crust and best taste was Cathy Chase.

The parade winners in the float category for best float belonging to an organization were: the Leon Historical Society with second place won by The Cherry Creek Sno-goers. The youth organization float category was won by the Cherry Creek Little League with second place being awarded to the Chautauqua County Dairy Princess and her court.

In the float category for best family float, first place was awarded to Top O’ Rise Campground, with second place going to Rodgers & Sons.

In the float category for Best Business, first place was won by Cockaigne with Center of Attention Hair Salon being awarded second place.

The winning float, from the Cockaigne Ski Area, is pictured during Saturday’s Cherry Creek Independence Day Parade. P-J photo by Sue Ann Fish

The Cherry Creek Assembly of God was awarded first place in the church float category.

The Best Musical Float category was won by The Trillium Lodge, $200, with the Pine Valley Alumni Band awarded $100 for their second place entry.

In the competition of marching units in the parade, the Pine Valley High School Marching Band was awarded the $500 first prize for best marching band.

Winner first place in the category of Unattached Color Guard, with a $75 prize, was Pine Valley VFW Post 2522. Second place, with a $50 prize, was awarded to the South Dayton American Legion Post 1573.

In the category of Senior Marching Units, $75 and a ribbon was won by the Sons of the American Revolution.

The South Dayton Cub Scouts and Webelos were awarded $75 and a ribbon for the best Junior Marching Unit.

First place for Senior Marching Unit was awarded to the Sheridan Fire Department, $75, and a ribbon.