Gyro Days begin this week
The Lead Creek Derby Gyro Ball floats under the River Street Bridge in Mullan in 2019. That year the ball took roughly three-and-a-half hours to get to Wallace's Sixth Street Bridge.
SNP File Photo
WALLACE — This year marks the 82nd Lead Creek Derby, the hallmark attraction of Gyro Days.
The event kicks off Wednesday afternoon when Gyro Club members will be in downtown Wallace for the commencement of the festival Thursday. During the live event, viewers can preview attractions including food, beverages and a few jokes and games. A few Lead Creek Derby tickets will even be available.
Once Thursday hits, a massive carnival takes over the streets, vendors set up shop on sidewalks, and the smell of delicious food fills the air.
While Thursday and Friday are exclusively Wallace-centric, Saturday is where the event moves upstream for the Lead Creek Derby.
“We encourage everyone to come to Wallace on Thursday or Friday night or all day and night on Saturday to enjoy the carnival,” Gyro Club President Hunter Gust said.
Businesses are still selling tickets, each assigned a hypothetical computer-generated time that it will take for the ball to reach Wallace. The ticket buyer with the time closest to the actual finish time wins the first-place prize.
The time it takes for the ball to get from Mullan to the finish line of Wallace’s Sixth Street Bridge can be anywhere from a couple of hours to more than five. The longest time in event history was 2015, when the final time was 5:36.54.
The honor of dropping the ball in the creek this year has been awarded to Bud Koski, longtime educator and coach in Mullan. Koski taught school for 38 years and coached for 43. He recently took on a leadership role with the Pottsville 7 and their efforts to rehabilitate Pottsville Park.
During the original Lead Creek Derby, funds raised were used to buy cigarettes for the troops fighting in World War II. Now, it funds college scholarships, youth activities and civic endeavors.
Lead Creek Derby tickets are available at businesses and restaurants in Wallace.
The first prize in the derby is 50 one-ounce silver rounds. After that, 13 other cash prizes will be awarded.
Gyro Days begins Wednesday, and the 82nd annual Lead Creek Derby begins at noon Saturday in Mullan.