(Lander, WY) – The 4th annual Lander Community Pig Roast may have been cut short by a storm this past weekend, but despite the weather over 2,000 plates of free food were served and dozens of volunteers continued their mission of raising mental health awareness.
The unofficial kick-off to the 2024 Roast was the Suicide Prevention Balloon Walk, where folks got to honor loved ones by writing their names on balloons and taking a leisurely walk through and around McManus Park, then back into City Park, where the balloons were then displayed on a clothesline.
The opening ceremonies then followed the Balloon Walk, which included presentation of the colors from the Patriot Guard (with a musical assist from the Lander Pipe Band), a prayer from Rock Church Pastor Jeff Courtier, and Lander Police Department Officer Casey Tadewald performed the National Anthem.
Janet Keiser from the VFW then conducted the Quilt of Valor ceremony, which honored local Veterans Charles Westmoreland, and John and Ella Riggs, who were also presented with coins from the Patriot Guard.
Senator Cale Case then gave a presentation on former Wyoming Governor from Lander Lester Hunt, whose tragic suicide/life story tied directly into the mental health themes of the day. (You can hear more about Lester Hunt from Senator Case in this recent Coffee Time segment.)
Following the closing remarks from Lander Mayor Monte Richardson, folks were then treated with music from amazing local talent, dunk tank shenanigans, kids games galore from the Rock Church, access to close to a dozen mental health resource booths, and of course, free/delicious pulled pork sandwiches courtesy of Paul Downey, Earl Osborne and the rest of the smoke pit crew, who tended to the 18+ hours of pork slow smoking overnight in City Park.
Folks also got to enjoy the Fremont County Cornhole “Pig Roast Tournament,” sponsored by Bill’s Quality Glass, which had 19 teams and even folks from Oregon and Washington who signed up while they were in town for the Sr. Babe Ruth League Pacific Northwest tournament.
The Cornhole tournament winners included:
Advanced Podiums – Ryan Bowstring and Ryan Bowstring Jr.; Conner McCloskey and Christopher Allee
Intermediate Podiums – Dan Peterson and Justin Gothier; Rj Bowstring and Josh Anderson
Beginner Podiums – Taylor Bigley and Brian McCollum; Steven and Meleta Serawop-C’Hair
As stated above, the festivities regrettably got cut short due to a storm with accompanying 30-40 mph winds, lightning and extended (albeit much needed) rainfall, which led to the second band of the day, Chain Mantis, having to end their set a bit early.
Mayor Richardson shared that the hope is to have a make-up concert at some point in the fall for the bands that didn’t get to perform; Red Dangit, Coop Deville and Full Blown Mosey. This will be dependent of course on availability and confirmation from Fremont Music (who also deserve a shout-out for providing sound each year).
In addition to the dozens of volunteers, the Roast couldn’t have happened without the following sponsors.