Sometimes communities celebrate history in ways other than denoting significant sites or remembering important people. Eudora will celebrate history today, Friday and Saturday by enjoying the 116th CPA Picnic. CPA is short for Cattleman’s Protection Association, a group of vigilant stockmen from the late 19th century who joined to protect their farms from thieves.

The celebration has lived on long after the need for mutual protection disappeared. Billy Langston, president of the nonprofit CPA Picnic the past three years, said organizers believe the picnic is the oldest continuous community celebration in the state, and they promote it with that distinction.
It returns at the Ninth and Main street hub that has been its home for years with the carnival setting up on the empty lot to the east of Main Street, with food vendors, bands and other activities to the west in the aptly named CPA Park.

This year’s picnic started Thursday with Weee Entertainment Carnival back for its second year, Langston said. The carnival opens at 6 p.m. all three evenings.

Friday’s highlights include the kids parade at 7 p.m. along Main Street from Pella Park, Seventh and Main streets, to CPA Park. Registration starts at 6 p.m. at Pella Park. Another highlight will be live entertainment from the Armed and Crazy band at 8 p.m. in the CPA bandstand.

Saturday’s main event will be the picnic’s grand parade. Registration starts at 6 p.m. at Laws Field. The route will start at 15th and Church streets, swing by Medicalodge at 14th and Maple streets before traveling north on Main Street to downtown, Langston said. Kim and the Quake will provide live musical entertainment at 8 p.m. at the CPA Park bandstand.

After 14 years, the Lumberyard Arts Center has its first employee. Wendy Conover started this month as the LAC’s coordinator. Conover, who for five years has been a Lumberyard volunteer in charge of programming, said her new responsibilities in the part-time position include overseeing the center’s art education efforts, volunteer engagement, event planning and promotion and booking rentals of the center.

Sandy Cardens, LAC board member, said board members were pleased to be able to hire Conover because they took care of those duties in the past. She anticipates Conover will allow the Lumberyard to make progress on a number of goals.

The Lumberyard will have a reception to celebrate Conover’s hiring at 5 p.m. July 6 at the center, 718 Main, Cardens said.

Conover said her new position doesn’t change the need for continued volunteer support at the LAC.

“We’re still dependent on volunteers,” she said. “We’re really proud of where we got as a volunteer organization. We’re still a community team.”