ELLINWOOD — Ellinwood streets bustled with activity at the second annual June Jaunt in Ellinwood. Out-of-county  license plates filled the parking lots in the city, and that, said Nancy Baird Ellinwood Chamber of Commerce director, was a sign of success.
The weekend started off with a Mystery Dinner called, "Fine Wine, Good Friends and a Wicked Dinner" on Friday. Every ticket was sold for the event.
Plus, J. Basil Dannebohm, formerly of Ellinwood and currently of Jetmore, donated Indian Peak Vineyards from Manton Calif. for taste testing, which was a huge success. The proceeds went for Parkinson's disease research. Dannebohm was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and shared information regarding that illness.
For the mystery, each person was assigned a part that they would portray for the evening. Of course, the mystery was solved at the end of the evening.
Baird was thrilled with the success of the entire weekend, including the mystery murder. "We've had lots of good feedback," she said.
"We had a fantastic crowd," she said about Saturday. There was a good showing at the car show, and there were spectators there all day visiting shops and enjoying German food. The American Legion parking lot was filled with vendors, some of whom sold out of their wares.
The Kid's Creative Corner was busy all of the time as were the tunnel tours.
"It was a wonderful event," said Rick Casagrande, which he leads. He said that on Saturday, at least 75 people saw the tunnels.
At his antique store, "sales were good," he said. Casagrande envisions the event growing bigger and better every year.