Clearwater’s two-day Heritage Days celebration was back last weekend and met with enthusiasm by the community.

The fun started Friday with the always popular Lions Club Heritage Dinner at Lions Park. Joah’s Ark petting zoo was also there to entertain the kids with pony rides and all kinds of animals to feed and pet.

The parade, featuring over 40 entries, kicked off at 5 p.m., led by the Wright Co. Sheriff and Clearwater American Legion Color Guard. This year’s grand marshal was Jim Eich, and Bud Schindelle and Wendy Johnson reigned as senior king and queen.

After the parade, attendees headed back to Lions Park for music and the beer garden.

A little rain didn’t detour the fun on Saturday, which began in the morning with a car show at Rejoice Lutheran Church. The Clearwater Fire Dept. held an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Clearwater Corners hosted their bean bag tournament.

The Clearwater Legion Riders’ Annual Homeless Veteran’s Run began at 10:30 a.m. After the riders returned, a silent auction was held from 4 to 6:15 p.m. followed by a live auction at 6:30 and a gun and cash prize raffle at 7 p.m. A pulled pork dinner was offered from 4 p.m. until gone.

The celebration concluded with a street dance featuring Radio Nation that was also sponsored and funded by the Clearwater Legion. All proceeds from the Homeless Veteran’s Run and Fundraiser will be used for veteran causes.

See more photos of the event elsewhere in this week’s Patriot.