Photo by Deb Gau A lack of minnows turned the minnow races at Arcola Days into bullhead races. Racers blew through straws to chase the fish to the finish line.

ARCO — It was a laid-back summer evening outside the former Brick Manor bar in Arco. Picnic tables were filling up with people talking and enjoying freshly-grilled burgers, while a few other people tossed beanbags. There was just one small hitch for part of Saturday evening’s entertainment.

Organizers in charge of the minnow races at Arcola Days came back to the party with news that the minnows caught for the race had disappeared from the trap overnight.

“We’ve got bullheads instead of minnows. We’re changing things up a bit,” said Chip Menke, as he got ready to referee the event.

The kids taking part in the races didn’t seem to mind. They faced off against each other, blowing through straws to chase the pint-sized bullheads toward the far end of a section of rain gutter.

“The hardest thing was not to suck (water) in,” said Teagen Shippy.

Arco may be a tiny town, but local residents were coming together to have some fun over the weekend at the recently revived Arcola Days festival. This weekend’s Arcola Days celebrations were the third held after a long gap, organizers said. The festival was held many years back — Cindy Menke pointed out a couple of signs stuck to a shelf behind the old bar at the Brick Manor, advertising “Arcola Day” in connection with Lincoln County’s 1973 centennial. But at some point, the celebration stopped.

“We’re kind of trying to resurrect it,” said Alan Widmark. Arcola Days is an opportunity for people to have fun, while also supporting local organizations like the Arco Fire Department, which hosted the burger feed, and the Arco Sportsmen’s Club.

This year’s festival included a golf tournament, a raffle, a motorcycle run and card game tournaments, as well as a dance with music by the band SideTracked. Beanbags and the bullhead races offered something for kids and families to be part of, too.

“We’re trying to do stuff for different ages,” Widmark said.

Besides bringing people together, Arcola Days was bringing some activity back to a local landmark. Most of the events Friday and Saturday were held at the Brick Manor. Established in 1958, the bar and restaurant was a popular spot for many years. After the Manor closed down, the Menkes bought the building and turned it into a private hunting lodge.

Over the weekend, the Brick Manor was open again as a venue for pinochle and Texas hold-em tournaments.

Chip Menke said the pinochle tournament drew a good number of people — although the tournament turned into more of a marathon.

“They were playing for four hours,” Menke said.