La Pine Frontier Days an Old-Fashioned Tradition

This Fourth of July weekend is packed with activities on the High Desert — and for those in La Pine, it’s the most anticipated event of the year.

The 12th annual Frontier Days celebrates the heritage and culture of La Pine.

This year’s event is bigger and better than years past, and hundreds of people came out Saturday to take part and mingle with more than 150 vendors.

Some of the highlights include carnival rides, lawn-mower races, a fun run, cookoff and music on the green.

One of the most popular attractions — fried Twinkies.

“The best thing that I hear is that this hearkens back to the old days,” said Anne Gawith, president of the La Pine Frontier Days Association. “That it is a truly old -fashioned, hometown Fourth of July celebration — and believe me, as long as I’m around and doing this, I want to keep it that way.”

“We want to be hometown, we want people to bring the kids and let them run around, we don’t want people to have to worry about anything and just have a good time.”

All events are held at the La Pine event center on First Street and are free to the public.

The vendors, games, and activities run until 10 p.m. through Sunday, and the festivities continue on Monday for the holiday.