ENTERPRISE — Always the weekend after Labor Day, this year’s Hells Canyon Mule Days promises attendees three days of activities, including a parade, concert, cowboy poetry, barrel racing and a Dutch oven cookoff.

In fact, if it has anything to do with mules, you’ll find it at the 43rd annual Hells Canyon Mule Days.

“(We’re) a family affair. We’re more than you’d expect,” said Sondra Lozier, president of Hells Canyon Mule Days Inc., the organization in charge of coordinating the event.

Gates open for this year’s Mule Days on Friday, Sept. 6 at 8 a.m. Events take place at the Wallowa County Fairgrounds, the outdoor arena, the Quonset building and the 4-H food booth.

Admission for the full three days is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (60-plus), $3 for children (ages 7-12) and children ages 6 and younger get in free when accompanied by an adult.

Mule Days continues until Sunday, Sept. 8.

A button is part of admission and allows participants to come and go during the three days of Mule Days without paying a separate entry fee each day.

Friday, Sept. 6

Friday begins with a free mule clinic at 9 a.m. with tips on how to train your mule. The same clinic will be offered on Saturday at 10 a.m. Both clinics are free.

Friday evening features a cowboy poetry gathering at the OK Theater at 7 p.m. Suggested donation is $10 and donations will go toward the Max Walker Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Saturday, Sept. 7

The Saturday parade begins at 11:45 a.m. with grand marshals, Jim and Holly Akenson, leading a non-motorized group of mule strings, local horse clubs and teams from the track at the north side of the fairgrounds (near Les Schwab).

The parade will return to the fairgrounds.

Attendees will find vendors, exhibitors and artisans featuring mule-related displays at the fairgrounds, including saddle makers and Western attire.

According to a press release issued by the Hells Canyon Mule Days organization, the featured artist this year is Bonnie Shields, a painter and sculptor from Tennessee.

A highlight of Saturday’s activities is the pit barbecue dinner. The dinner is a Max Walker Memorial Scholarship event featuring live music by western bands, including the Panhandle Cowboys, Famer Dave Fulfs and J B Barber. The dinner begins at 5 p.m. and will be on the fairgrounds. Cost is $12 in advance or $15 at the dinner. Advance tickets can be purchased at the entrance gate to Mule Days.

Another Saturday highlight is the concert at the OK Theater featuring Wylie and the Wild West Band. The concert begins at 7 p.m.

Tickets in advance are $30; at the door, the cost is $35.

Tickets are available at eventbrite.com, Dollar Stretcher, The Bookloft and Joseph Hardware.

Sunday, Sept. 8

Sunday’s cowboy church is on the stage at the fairgrounds beginning at 7:30 a.m. featuring music by Soul Renovation. The service will be conducted by Jeff Barnhart.

Information

Hells Canyon Mule Days is handicap accessible, has free parking and covered seating. For more information, contact Sondra Lozier at 541-426-3271 or at Main Street Antiques at 541-426-3229.

A schedule of events and times is available at www.hellscanyonmuledays.com.

The history

In the spring of 1981, local ranchers and packers met with representatives of the Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Forest Service to explore the idea of putting together a new county event.

As a result, the mule — tough, intelligent, individualistic, often maligned, but the mainstay of the many packers and outfitters working in Wallowa County — was elevated to center stage for the first annual Hells Canyon Mule Days celebration on Sept. 19-20, 1981.

Hells Canyon was an appropriate title because that area owes most of its early settlement and development to the mule which predominantly served as a major means of transportation to gain access to this rugged region of the county.

— hellscanyonmuledays.com