Six wagons will compete at the Chuck Wagon Cook-off on Saturday under the trees south of the La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Competing this year will be of Davin Montoya of Hesperus; Dr. Harry Baxstrom, Bayfield; Rodney Carriker and Bud Winbourn from Cortez; Monte Deckerd of Golden; and new this year will be Sam Howell from Odessa, Texas. On Saturday, the grounds will be open to give the public an opportunity to visit with the cooks and look at the authentic 1800s wagons. During the day, “camp coffee” will be available. Each wagon will serve meat, potatoes, beans, fresh bread and a dessert. A drink also will be provided. Tickets are $20, and serving will begin at 5 p.m. Early arrival is necessary to decide which wagon to eat at. Tickets are available at Basin Co-Op in Durango and Valley Feeds in Gem Village.

For more information, call 247-2816

Ignacio wrestling association hosts dance

The Ignacio Wrestling Association will host a benefit dance from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday at the Spring Creek Grange in Ignacio.

Flatwater, Carbon Red and the Wild Country Band will perform, and food and beverages will be available during the event. The tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children 12 and younger. Donations of silent auction items and sponsorships are sought. All proceeds will go toward wrestlers in the surrounding area, who need help with wrestling equipment, gear and summer camp fees.

For more information, call (210) 667-3809, email [email protected] or [email protected].

Public input welcomed on San Juan Skyway

A series of meetings are planned that will educate attendees about the significance of the San Juan Skyway; will explain accomplishments that have been made to improve the Skyway since a management plan was done in the 1990s; and will generate ideas for the future of the Skyway.

Residents from all communities along the Skyway corridor are encouraged to attend.

A meeting will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. July 31 at the Mancos Grange, 680 Grande Ave., in Mancos. To RSVP by July 28, email Kathy Sherer at [email protected] or call 884-2355.

Participants will receive a brief overview of the current San Juan Skyway Corridor Management Plan and discuss other previous plans. After review of achieved goals from the corridor plan or the other plans, participants will then discuss current-day challenges, issues and opportunities.

A second set of meetings are scheduled for October, where input gathered from the first meetings will be summarized and presented.

For more information, visit www. ColoradoByways.org, call Lenore Bates at (303) 757-9786, email Lenore. [email protected] or visit www.montezumaland.org/san-juan-skyway-25th-anniversary-events. People unable to attend may submit input to www.surveymonkey.com/s/SPSGNLQ.

Escalante Days Celebration to be held

The Dolores Chamber of Commerce announces the 38th annual Escalante Days Celebration on Aug. 8 and 9 in Dolores.

The event will feature “Celebrating Escalante Days (and Nights!),” with live music accompanying the free activities.

The event will include vendors, music and street dance, Kiddy Parade, Kid’s Bicycle Rodeo, ice-cream eating contest, pancake breakfast, softball tournament, Dolores Rotary Club Escalante Days Mountain Bike Race, parade, Galloping Goose rides, chain-saw contest, watermelon-eating contest, water-balloon toss, arm wrestling, penny hunt, 3-legged race, Stomp Rockets, egg toss and Kiwanis Duck Race.

For more information, visit www.doloreschamber.com.

Rotary Club of Durango to meet Tuesday

The Rotary Club of Durango’s meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave., will include an in-depth look at Rotary’s mission to completely eradicate the debilitating scourge of polio from the face of the earth.

Featured speakers, recorded at a recent international Global Information Systems conference in San Diego on July 14, will be Dr. Bruce Aylward of the World Health Organization, an authority on polio vaccination, and Dr. Vincent Seaman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a major financial backer of Rotary’s global polio initiative.

Polio remains endemic in three countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan – placing all countries at risk of importation of polio, especially in the countries from western Africa to the Horn of Africa. Visitors are welcome.

For more information, call Bruce Rodman at 385-7899.

Herald Staff