Lindsey Premo, of Tupper Lake, plays through injury at the annual Field Day cornhole tournament on July 22, 2023. (Enterprise photo — Arthur Maiorella)

TUPPER LAKE — While the tropical allure of the Hawaiian Islands may lie thousands of miles away, Tupper Lake will be decked out in Aloha Spirit on Saturday as the town puts on its annual Field Day event.

Latitudes will collide this year as this year’s theme is “Lumberjack Luau,” with the town of Tupper Lake Recreation Department continuing its fourth consecutive year of running the popular event, which began as a successor to the former Woodsmen’s Field Days.

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Parade

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The action gets underway at 11 a.m. Saturday with the annual parade. The route begins at the Tupper Lake Town Hall and continues to the Tupper Lake Municipal Park. This year’s Grand Marshal is Connie Kennedy, who received an outpouring of nominations for her longtime dedication to MAC’s Safe Ride Continued, according to Recreation Department Director Laura LaBarge.

Parade participants will be entered into a contest to determine the best floats in fitting with the “Lumberjack Luau” theme. The winners will receive cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100 for first, second and third place floats, respectively.

Those wishing to take part in the parade are encouraged to contact Amanda “Bird” Lizotte at 518-578-6889, or birdlizotte169@yahoo.com if they haven’t already done so. Lizotte said the deadline is Friday morning, but with a behemoth of logistical responsibilities she’s juggling in the days leading up to the parade, she said the earlier people can get in touch with her, the better.

During this time, the usually-busy thoroughfare will be closed and traffic will be detoured using Cedar Street, Leboeuf Street and McLaughlin Avenue, according to Tupper Lake Police Chief Eric Proulx. He said Demars Boulevard will reopen to traffic following the parade, which he anticipated to be no later than 12:30 p.m.

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Park events

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The Field Day continues at the park from noon to 6 p.m., with a slew of events for the whole family. While admission — and many of the Field Day events — are free, organizers encourage participants to bring cash for any food, craft and/or auction purchases that will take place.

The “Touch a Truck” in the park will immediately follow the parade and will include police, fire and EMS first responder vehicles, along with some of the village’s Department of Public Works trucks. Throughout the Field Day, there will be various craft vendors, food trucks and fresh lemonade on site. P-2’s Irish Pub will be serving adult beverages to those 21 and older with a valid ID.

Among the food options, the Town of Tupper Lake Day Camp will have a booth for its Oscar’s Smokehouse Fundraiser. Based out of Warrensburg, Oscar’s offers a variety of house-made smoked meats and cheeses. LaBarge noted that the campers are fundraising for their end-of-season annual field trip to the Water Safari theme park in Old Forge. In addition to Oscar’s, the campers will be fundraising by pre-selling a variety of gift boxes full of meat and cheese at the Field Day. Payment is cash-only and orders will be available for pickup in Tupper Lake on Aug. 4.

Depending on what they want to get involved in, Field Day-goers may need to keep an eye on the clock for some time-specific events. At 2 p.m., MAC’s Safe Ride Continued will host its annual Cornhole Tournament at the park. At 3 p.m., the ever-famous slime run is slated to start — no registration necessary. From The Forest Chainsaw Carving will be on site to host the annual Chainsaw Carving Contest and Auction, which will take place at 4 p.m.

Throughout the afternoon, Tupper Arts and the Tupper Lake Public Library will be set up with a variety of youth and family activities. These include grass skirt making, floral head crowns and tiki crafts. There will also be axe throwing. There will be both real axes — for adults — and an inflatable version for youth, and/or those deemed by organizers to not be of sound mind and reasonable judgement in the moment to handle a real axe.

Other features include dunk tanks, slip-n-slide and an inflatable foam party pit with with a DJ. There will also be a climbing wall, mechanical surfboard, luau limbo and lei making. Participants are encouraged to dress in theme. For more information on the event, including vendor application inquiries, visit tinyurl.com/2p2c7njs.